Footage is now public of the deadly Feb. 10 encounter in Duluth, Minnesota, between deputies and a homicide suspect.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s released excerpts from body-worn and squad camera footage Tuesday of the late night vehicle pursuit, crash and fatal shooting that occurred on a residential street off Grand and North 79th avenues, just southwest of the Lake Superior Zoo.
In footage captured by Deputy Matthew Sobczak’s squad car, the suspect — identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as 33-year-old Donald Felver III — is seen speeding the wrong way southwest down Grand Avenue near Interstate 35, which he then pursues for about 20 blocks.
The pursuit ends when Sgt. Joshua Berndt performs the PIT maneuver on Felver’s vehicle North 79th Avenue West. About 10 seconds later, as Berndt and Sobczak shout commands while approaching the vehicle with handguns drawn, gunfire erupts. About 15 gunshots are heard in the footage.
Citing details from the preliminary investigation led by the BCA, the sheriff’s office says Felver, “fired from inside the vehicle in the direction of the deputies,” who then returned fire.
Felver, who was alone in the vehicle, was soon pronounced dead at the scene. Neither Berndt, Sobczak or the other deputies involved were hurt, the sheriff’s office says, and a “handgun and spent casings” were recovered from the suspect’s vehicle.
According to the BCA, Berndt and Sobczak have 19 and 16 years of law enforcement experience, respectively, and both are on critical incident leave.
About five hours before the fatal shooting, and less than 6 miles away, another man was shot dead. CBS News affiliate Northern News Nowpreviously reported Felver was the suspect in that earlier shooting, though deputies were unaware of that detail at the time of their deadly confrontation.
Police told Northern News Now that Felver and the earlier shooting victim, 33-year-old Darius Handy, were “known to both each other and law enforcement” and “had both been involved in some of the same cases over the years.”
The BCA says its investigation into Felver’s killing is still ongoing.
