BCA: Man shot by St. Paul police was firing at officers
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St. Paul police shot and killed Jaffort Demont Smith, 33, of St. Paul, as he fired at them and refused to drop his weapon, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said on Tuesday.
The BCA says police responded around 3:30 a.m. Monday to a 911 call of a man with a gun at Rapid Recovery Towing on Acker Street East. At this early stage of the investigation, the BCA says a woman entered the business followed by a man identified as Smith.
Police later found Smith and the woman near Acker and Buffalo streets. Smith allegedly shot the woman, identified as Beverly Joan Flowers, 49, and then ran.
Officers chased Smith, catching up to him in the backyard of a home a block away. Police say Smith fired at the officers and ignored repeated calls for him to drop his weapon.
Flowers was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital and is still hospitalized. The BCA did not disclose her condition and said the relationship between Smith and Flowers is "part of the ongoing investigation."
The four officers are identified as John Corcoran, Mark Grundhauser, Jeffery Korus and Michael Tschida. All four are on standard administrative leave.
When the BCA finishes its investigation, the agency says it will send conclusions to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.
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