Grand Jury: Apple Valley Police Officer Was 'Legally Justified' in Fatal Shooting

An Apple Valley police officer was legally justified when he after responding to a domestic disturbance in April, a grand jury has concluded.

Officer Tommie Booth used deadly force against Carl Anthony Tatum, age 48 of Apple Valley, while responding to the incident on April 29.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in a press release that it's his office's policy to have a grand jury review all cases of officer-involved shootings resulting in death.

Minnesota law authorizes law enforcement officers to use deadly force to prevent an act that exposes the law enforcement officer or another to death or great bodily harm, the press release says.

It also says Minnesota law authorizes a law enforcement officer to use deadly force if the officer believed the use of deadly force was necessary to apprehend a person believed to have committed a felony involving the use or threatened use of deadly force. In Minnesota, domestic assault involving strangulation and assault with a deadly weapon are both felonies involving the use of deadly force.

The investigation found, per the press release, that:

A female Apple Valley resident called 911 at about 5:45 p.m. on April 29 to report that she was the victim of domestic strangulation.

Apple Valley Police Officers Tara Becker and Tommie Booth went to the Apple Valley townhome where the incident occurred. Becker spoke with the woman in her car outside the townhome, and Booth spoke with the male suspect, later identified as Carl Anthony Tatum, at first inside the townhome and then on the front steps outside the townhome.

After consulting with each other, Becker and Booth concluded there was probable cause to arrest Tatum.

Booth asked Tatum to stand up on the front steps, at which time he stated loudly “[expletive]…this,” turned and ran inside.

Booth and Becker ran after Tatum, and Booth tried unsuccessfully to grab Tatum’s sweatshirt to stop him as he was running up the flight of stairs towards the living room.

Booth told Tatum to stop. He did not, and continued into the living room toward the loveseat he had been sitting on when police arrived.

Tatum then reached under the cushion of the loveseat, pulled out a Ruger 9-millimeter pistol and raised the gun in the direction of Booth as turned toward the officers.

Booth, who was standing at the top of the stairs, had drawn his gun, and Becker had drawn her Taser. Tatum fired two shots at Booth but missed, and Booth fired nine shots at Tatum—of which six hit Tatum. Becker used her Taser, but only one prong attached so it wasn't discharged on Tatum.

Booth and Becker administered first aid to Tatum immediately after the shooting. Paramedics and other police officers arrived "within minutes" and Tatum was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he died later that evening.

Backstrom said in the press release: “This was a domestic incident that quickly escalated into a life and death situation as a result of actions taken by Carl Tatum. Both Officers Tommie Booth and Tara Becker acted decisively and professionally in all aspects of the actions they took during this incident. Both of these officers should be commended for their heroic actions in this traumatic incident which tragically, but justifiably, resulted in the death of Carl Tatum.”

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was the lead investigative agency, assisted by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office.