Parents of man shot by Washington Co. deputy say they await details of their son's death

The parents of a 23-year-old Lake Elmo man who was shot to death by a sheriff's deputy last year said Tuesday in a statement posted on the Sandberg Law Firm’s Facebook that they're waiting patiently to understand what happened to their son.

Benjamin Evans was shot in April 2018 while Washington County deputies were responding to a 911 call of a suicidal man at Lake Elmo Avenue and 34th Street North.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said at the time that Washington County Deputy Brian Krook fired and hit Evans “multiple times,” after deputies tried to persuade Evans to put down a gun.

The BCA also said a handgun was found nearby, as well as a bean bag rifle that the agency said had not been fired. Video from dashboard and body cameras captured part, but not all of what happened.

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Bill Evans and Kim Porter released the statement “after sheriff’s deputy’s indictment” on Friday. They did not name the deputy. The statement does not give details of the indictment.

The parents say Benjamin Evans dreamed of a life of service and worked as an emergency medical technician.

"He cherished the uniform and all the public servants who wore it; his job was to save lives. It is incomprehensible that his life should be taken when he needed a public servant to save him," the statement reads.

Neither the Ramsey County Attorney's Office nor the chief judge of Washington County would confirm the indictment when contacted by MPR News on Monday.