Brooklyn Park Police Say Star Tribune Misrepresented Hortman Assassination Response

BROOKLYN PARK, MN — The Brooklyn Park Police Department and the Star Tribune are in a public dispute over how officers responded the night Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed.

The disagreement centers on a single line in a Star Tribune story published Tuesday about the department’s internal investigation into the June 14 murders.

The article, written by reporter Andy Mannix, said two Brooklyn Park officers "waited for a drone to be deployed to see if [suspect Vance] Boelter was inside and if Melissa Hortman was still alive."

Police say that claim is false.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the department accused the Star Tribune of "grossly misrepresenting the facts," saying officers "were unaware of any victims other than Mark Hortman in the home."

The department said its original news release made that clear and that both responding officers acted "swiftly, with courage and bravery in the face of grave danger."

The Star Tribune’s article drew from interviews with Chief Mark Bruley, body-camera timestamps showing an hour between the initial gunfire and officers’ entry into the house, and other public information.

The story noted that the department had cleared Officers Zachary Baumtrog and Jay Bloyer of wrongdoing but was still seeking a third-party review of the overall response.

Court documents filed in Hennepin County and the federal indictment confirm that Boelter, disguised as a police officer, shot Mark Hortman in the doorway as officers arrived, exchanged gunfire, and then fled.

Officers later found both Mark and Melissa Hortman dead inside their home. The records do not say when officers reentered the house or what they knew about other possible victims at the time.

The Star Tribune has not issued a correction. Brooklyn Park police say they contacted one of the paper’s editors to request one.

Boelter, 57, was indicted in July on federal charges for the killings of the Hortmans and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, earlier that same morning.

He faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.