Mahnomen County authorities release dashcam video of shooting after pursuit
Authorities have released dashcam video showing a Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy shooting and wounding a woman during a March 13 incident.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been investigating the shooting near Naytahwaush, in northwestern Minnesota. Mahnomen County Sheriff Josh Guenther said he released the video in response to posts on social media accusing deputy Dakota Czerny of attempted murder.
"I think now that the facts have been released, it might change some people's minds, and they might have a different feeling about this whole situation," Guenther told MPR News on Thursday.
The incident started with an attempted traffic stop and turned into a pursuit, during which Czerny forced the fleeing vehicle off the road.
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The dashcam video released Wednesday shows Czerny trying to handcuff a person standing outside the vehicle when another person, later identified as 20-year-old Shequoya Basswood, appears to pull a handgun and point it at Czerny.
The video shows Czerny shouting at her to drop the gun, then firing his own weapon. Five gunshots are audible.
Basswood suffered several gunshot wounds but survived. She told the Minneapolis Star Tribune soon after the shooting that she was removing the gun from her shirt when she was shot.
The sheriff's office said she faces several felony charges.
In a statement accompanying the video release, Guenther wrote that "the purpose of releasing this segment of video is transparency. There is a narrative being pushed through social media from a coalition out of the Twin Cities area stating that Deputy Czerny attempted to murder Basswood."
He cited a "wanted" poster circulating in a Facebook post last weekend that claimed Czerny "only stopped firing because he tripped and fell."