Brooklyn Center police investigate officer's threat to shoot
Updated: 3:30 p.m. | Posted: 7:11 a.m.
Brooklyn Center police are investigating after a video showing an officer threatening to shoot a suspect was posted to Facebook.
In a statement, Police Chief Tim Gannon said the video was brought to the police department's attention on Facebook Wednesday. The video, shared on social media, shows the officer ordering a suspect to get out of a vehicle in a parking lot and to get down on the ground.
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The officer tells the suspect not to reach for anything and asks, "You want to get shot?" As the suspect lies on the ground, the officer is heard threatening to "put two" in the back of the suspect's head if the suspect moves again.
Gannon says while using "a forceful command" may be necessary, "threatening language is never appropriate or acceptable."
Police have identified the suspect as Rease Joseph William Foye-Finch, 19. The altercation took place around 2:20 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of the Walmart on Shingle Creek Crossing.
The Brooklyn Center officer was responding to a theft at Walmart reported by the store's security staff, said Cmdr. Tony Gruenig. Foye-Finch was arrested and charged with fleeing police, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, and misdemeanor theft. Hubbard County had also issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of failing to appear in court.
The department is not naming the officer at this time. No one was hurt. The officer's car camera captured part of the incident, Gannon said.