Police video shows man shoot St. Paul officer before officer fatally shoots him
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St. Paul Police on Tuesday released video of a shootout that left a man dead and an officer injured Thursday afternoon.
Officer Michael Tschida suffered a gunshot wound to his leg while responding to a domestic violence call on Marshall Avenue. A woman had called 911 to report that a former romantic partner was ramming her car.
The clip begins with video from Tschida’s squad car dash camera as he drives north on Cretin Ave. After turning left onto Marshall, Tschida stops and gets out of his squad with his gun drawn.
He’s heard yelling at 24-year-old Brandon Daleshaun Keys three times to get on the ground. Within seconds, Keys ducks behind a car parked in the middle of Marshall Ave. and shoots Tschida, who immediately returns fire and radios for help.
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“Shots fired, shots fired, I’m hit,” Tschida tells a dispatcher.
Five gunshots can be heard on both the dash camera recording and video from Tschida’s body camera that was also included in the department’s release.
After the exchange of gunfire, the woman who’d called 911 pulls her minivan into the parking lot of the Minnoco gas station and runs toward Keys as he lay in the street. She ignores commands from Tschida to get away so he can render aid to Keys.
“Move, move! Get the [expletive] out of the way so I can get him help!” Tschida shouts with his gun still drawn.
The body camera video shows that from Tschida’s vantage point, he is unable to see Keys on the ground behind the car. As other emergency vehicles approach with their lights and sirens activated, Tschida limps toward Keys as the woman kneels over him.
Tschida is seen picking up a gun from underneath Keys’ left ankle just before the clip ends.
Keys died at Regions Hospital early Friday from a gunshot wound to his head. Tschida was treated and released the same day and continues to recover.
At a news conference Tuesday, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said it was important to release the video to the public quickly, even as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation is still underway.
“None of us in our community want incidents like this to happen,” Henry said. “And while we recognize that it’s very early in this investigation, we hope that our city’s commitment and the release of body camera footage will help create at least some clarity around some of the facts that we know very early on.”
Authorities did not name the woman who’d reported Keys’ threats, but police released a transcript of her 911 call.
She told a dispatcher: “My baby’s dad is chasing me. I have a current restraining order on him. He has a gun. He’s trying to injure me. He just hit my car. He’s gonna [expletive] kill me.”
As the call continues, the woman reports that Keys had broken her window. It ends soon after Tschida arrives and exchanges gunfire with Keys.
In a protection order filed Oct. 25, a 38-year-old woman who shares a 5-year-old son with Keys reported that he had recently stalked and threatened her.
