Prosecutor: Minneapolis police officers justified in shooting

Two Minneapolis police officers who shot and killed a black man were justified in using deadly force, a prosecutor announced Monday. Police body camera footage showed the officers chasing 31-year-old Thurman Blevins, who ignored repeated commands to put his hands up.

What enraged many within the community was that Blevins was running away, yelling please don’t shoot me. But Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman said that a closer look at the footage shows that while Blevins was running away from police he had a gun in his hand and had turned toward the officers before he was shot. Much of Freeman’s explanation came in the form of a written statement issued after a news conference, where Blevins’ family and others in the room angered over the decision not to prosecute the officers shouted Freeman down and did not allow him to finish his remarks.

Police began chasing Blevins after he allegedly fired a gun in a residential neighborhood. The investigation into the shooting continues while the officers involved remain on administrative leave.