No Charges For Officers In Fatal Forest Lake Shooting: Prosecutors

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — Two Forest Lake police officers and a Washington County deputy will not be charged in connection with a fatal shooting in November, the county attorney’s office announced Friday.

Officers Jonathan Glader and Matthew Smith and Deputy Greg Reiter were justified in shooting 47-year-old Bradley Erickson on Nov. 28, according to Assistant County Attorney Tom Frenette and Nick Hydukovich, who serves as the head of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s criminal division.

Erickson died Dec. 1 at Hennepin County Medical Center from his injuries.

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Glader, Smith and Reiter responded around 1:30 p.m. Nov. 28 to reports that a man was violating an active order for protection at a home in the 8300 block of 224th Street North, Frenette and Hydukovich said in a news release.

The caller reported Erickson threatened to shoot her and any law enforcement officers that responded to the 911 call, they said.

As police reached the home, they saw Erickson walking with a rifle in his hands and attempted “dozens of negotiations” with him through a squad car’s public address system, officials said in the release.

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Erickson ignored officers’ demands to drop the rifle and returned to his car before fleeing the area, officials said. Officers used a PIT maneuver to force him to stop and exited their cars with guns drawn, officials said.

Erickson picked up his rifle and “pointed it directly at a deputy” before Glader, Smith and Reiter opened fire on him, Frenette and Hydukovich said in their statement.

He was given medical aid and then flown to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died several days later, officials said.

The BCA launched an independent investigation into the shooting before turning its findings over to the Washington County Attorney’s Office to determine whether the officers involved should be charged.

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The Washington County Attorney’s Office said “the officers reasonably feared death or great bodily harm and were left with no means to deescalate the situation” when they shot Erickson.

“While the death of an individual by deadly force is never to be taken lightly, there is no question that the actions of the officers in this matter were wholly justified,” Hydukovich said Friday. “The need to take a human life deeply affects all of those involved, and these officers made every effort to avoid having to take that action.”

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