21-year old Jordan Hansen was shot to death by Wright County Sheriff’s Deputies early Sunday morning in Otsego, MN while having a mental health crisis.
“You know, the way that it ended of course was tragic and we are heartbroken,” says Hansen’s Aunt Sarah Wroblewski.
She and her husband called authorities when they became worried that they would not be able to handle the situation without assistance.
“Anyone who works, and works through mental health issues from a common sense perspective, you know that that demeanor can change on a dime,” says Wroblewski.
Wroblewski says her nephew was calm and in his room when he agreed to go to the hospital. But when officers took him downstairs, he ran for a knife. She and her husband believed that officers missed the opportunity to detain him. They would like to see better training when it comes to mental health.
“So, you know, we want education,” Wroblewski told WCCO’s Susie Jones. “We want to ensure that officers understand. And again, for us it felt like common sense. We want officers to be trained and understanding, and we don't now.”
In a statement Sunday, the Sheriff's Office said:
“Reports indicated a man was having mental health challenges and had threatened physical harm to his family and himself."
The deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave which is standard operating procedure. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating.
Those four deputies are:
Deputy Patrick Mabusth discharged his Taser. He has been with the department for five years.
Deputy Mark Voss discharged his Taser. He has been with the department for three years.
Sgt. Jeffrey McMackins fired his department handgun. He has been with the department for 13 years.
Deputy Leland Wilkinson fired his department handgun. He has been with the department for three years.
In information released Wednesday afternoon, according to the BCA investigation, the four deputies involved in the incident were not part of the initial response to the home in Otsego.
The deputies involved responded after Hansen ran from the home with a knife in his hand. According to their statements, the deputies saw Hansen weaving between vehicles at the end of the driveway of the home. Hansen then ran around to the backyard.
Video captured by a squad car camera shows Hansen running toward Deputy Wilkinson. Wilkinson falls backwards as he fires his department handgun. The video then shows Sgt. McMackins and Deputy Voss providing medical aid.
In their statements, all four deputies said Hansen ignored repeated commands to drop the knife. BCA crime scene personnel recovered a knife at the scene. Wright County deputies do not wear body cameras but do have cameras on their squad cars. Along with recording audio, those cameras captured portions of the incident as described above. It did not capture the entire shooting.
The BCA says in a statement that they "will release the video along with the complete case file once the case has been closed and fully adjudicated."
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