Parents of man killed during Eagan standoff grieve, but don't blame police
The parents of an Eagan man who died after a confrontation with police Sunday say their son was a generous, but troubled man.
Authorities say Justin Kulhanek-Derks, 37, died of a gunshot wound to the head after exchanging gunfire with two Eagan officers. It's not clear who fired the fatal shot.
In an interview, Michael Derks said Kulhanek-Derks, 37, suffered from depression and was trying to get help at the time he died. And Derks said his son owned a firearm and had a permit to carry it.
Police were called to an apartment building on the 1200 block of Ironwood Lane shortly before noon on Sunday, after reports that a man was firing a gun outside.
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Officers approaching the area were fired upon by a man now identified as Kulhanek-Derks, according to a statement from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting. The agency said two officers returned fire.
Derks said he and his wife have cooperated with the investigation, and don't blame police.
"We've never once accused them of doing anything wrong, or saying that our son was mistreated," said Derks. "We honestly believe he had a psychotic break. I'm not a psychiatrist, but — I honestly believe he just went over the edge for whatever reason and it was just too much for him."
Derks said Kulhanek-Derks worked full time as a machinist after finishing school at Dakota County Technical College. And he took took care of his teenage daughter Melissa.
"The two were inseparable," said Derks.
His son's goal, said Derks, was to get out of debt so he could buy a home with a big garage where he could work on cars. "He loved having a family. He wanted to have more children — another wife if possible," said Derks. "Those were the goals that he really wanted."
According to state records, Kulhanek-Derks filed for divorce from Robyn Jones in 2007. The two had been married for four years.
In 2015, an order for protection was filed against Kulhanek-Derks by Lynne Krook who claimed he'd assaulted her son, who was a vulnerable adult. Krook also said on another occasion Kulhanek-Derks came to her home drunk and armed.
When asked if he ever worried about his son having a firearm while struggling with depression, Derks said he didn't think those two factors would contribute to his son's death.
"There was no way we could picture anything happening," said Derks. "This was a total shock to us. It caught us totally off guard. We didn't understand what he was going through, obviously, at this particular point. He's had the firearm for several years. We never ever suspected that he could even have something happen to himself and leave his daughter and leave the rest of us. Unfortunately, we missed the signs and the system couldn't get to him fast enough."
The family held a memorial service for Kulhanek-Derks Thursday and will have him cremated. He had signed up to be an organ donor, which Derks said is representative of the kind of person his son was.
"Even in his death, he was a giver," said Derks.