Man killed by deputy's vehicle had history of mental illness
The man killed by a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy in Mounds View, Minn., last week after allegedly shooting at officers had a history of mental illness and alcoholism.
A judge last month ordered 48-year-old Troy Allen Engstrom to undergo treatment at Regions Hospital and take antipsychotic medication.
Last Wednesday, officers responded to a domestic assault call at a motel involving gunfire and later saw Engstrom, the suspect, walking in a residential neighborhood about a mile away.
As they approached, authorities say Engstrom fired at their squad cars. Deputy Donald Rindal accelerated, struck Engstrom with his vehicle, and knocked him through a wooden privacy fence. Engstrom later died at HCMC.
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Authorities say they recovered a cocked handgun at the scene and soon released photos of bullet holes on the front driver’s sides of both the Ramsey County and Mounds View squads.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Rindal’s use of force. No law enforcement agency has released video of the incident.
On July 29, a social worker at Regions Hospital petitioned a Ramsey County judge to have Engstrom committed to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, an “unspecified psychosis” and “severe” alcohol use disorder.
According to the petition, Engstrom declined to take antipsychotic drugs voluntarily and had been detained on a 72-hour emergency mental health hold for an unspecified reason. In court documents, Regions staff urged a judge to keep Engstrom hospitalized over concerns that he’d harm himself or others.
Ramsey County District Judge Shawn Bartsh ordered that Engstrom be hospitalized involuntarily ahead of a hearing in early August. She later issued an order requiring Engstrom to undergo voluntary treatment with medication. It’s unclear when he was discharged from the hospital.