Police in St. Paul have shared video from their body cameras that shows the moment they shot at a man they think killed three people in two shootings in Minneapolis.
Earl Bennett, 40, was shot by police in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul on October 28 and taken to the hospital. He is being charged with shooting three people dead at an encampment in Minneapolis the day before and another shooting in Minneapolis that seriously hurt a man.
The St. Paul Police Department shared parts of body-worn camera footage on Tuesday that showed when officers found Bennett and shot him.
Around 7:45 p.m., police were called to the 400 block of Pierce Street because shots had been fired nearby. When they got there, they saw Bennett with a pistol near Snelling and Charles Avenues. Before the police arrive, you can hear people trying to talk Bennett out of the shooting.
When police tried to talk to Bennett, he pointed the gun at them and turned south on Snelling Avenue. According to one of the videos, an officer tried to calm things down by telling the man over and over, “We’re here to help you,” and telling him to “get on the ground.”
For about four minutes, they talked with Bennett about putting the gun down.
There is a voice on the tape that says Bennett’s gun is “not loaded,” but this has not been confirmed. “He doesn’t have any bullets in that gun,” the police told the onlooker again when he said he was going to take the gun away from Bennett.
Bennett kept going south on Snelling Avenue until he reached University Avenue. He stopped at the intersection and walked across with the gun to his head. Police continued to use less dangerous weapons to try to get him to put down the gun, but they were not successful.
Bennett pointed the gun at police officers while they were trying to calm him down. Four officers were seen firing their duty weapons at him, hitting him. You can hear the gun of one cop going off about eight times.
Officers helped and called for medics from the Saint Paul Fire Department. They arrived and took Bennett to Regions Hospital for care of his serious injuries.
“Last week, there was more gun violence in our city.” Police were called to one of the busiest crossroads in our state because someone was shooting a gun. According to St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry, “I am thankful that more people weren’t hurt given the location, time of day, and number of cars, light-rail users, people on foot, and people riding bikes in the area.”
As your police department, we are still committed to being open and giving you body camera images as soon as possible. No one wants these things to happen, not even the police officers who are supposed to answer these calls. We need to all work together to make our neighborhood safe.
Source: St. Paul Police Release Bodycam Footage of Officers Fatally Shooting Homicide Suspect
