Two Burnsville officers were killed in February; Minneapolis officer died Thursday.
The Minneapolis police officer fatally shot Thursday became the third Minnesota officer killed by gunfire this year, the most in more than 40 years.
The homicide of officer Jamal Mitchell happened at a time of increased assaults on officers in the state. A Minneapolis officer was also wounded in Thursday’s shooting, at least the third Minnesota officer to be injured by gunfire this year.
On average, 388 officers were assaulted each year in Minnesota in the decade up to 2019. There were an average of 1,065 officers assaulted annually between 2020 and last year, according to statistics maintained by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Most of the assaults resulted in minor or no injuries, but some officers paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“We know that attacks on police officers are on the rise in Minnesota and across the country,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said early Friday. “Jamal just happened to be the latest victim of this senseless and troubling trend. It’s become too easy to attack our police and it needs to stop”
A gunman opened fire in February in Burnsville, killing Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, who were both 27, and Burnsville firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth, 40. Another Burnsville police officer was wounded.
The last time three officers were killed by gunfire in Minnesota in a single year was 1982, according to information from the national Officer Down Memorial Page. That year, Roseville officer Bruce Russell, Oakdale officer Richard Walton and Wayzata Sgt. James Anderson died in separate incidents.
