Body Cam Footage- Bemidji Police Officers Cleared In Shooting Death Of Vernon May

The Beltrami County Attorney's Office has announced that they have cleared Bemidji Police Officer Bidal Duran and Beltrami County Sheriff's Deputy Brandon Newhouse in the officer-involved shooting death of Vernon Andrew May. The shooting happened on November 28th, 2018.

The incident was investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). The BCA submitted its file to the Beltrami County Attorney's office for review of whether the actions of the law enforcement officers involved were justified, and therefore legal, under Minnesota Statute § 609.066.

The evidence gathered by the BCA shows that on November 28, 2018 Officer Duran attempted to arrest Vernon May on an outstanding felony warrant. Vernon May had a gun. A struggle ensued for control of the gun. Vernon May had primary control of the gun and repeatedly stated "shoot me." Ultimately, Officer Duran, in fear of his life, made the decision to fire his gun at Vernon May. Deputy Newhouse assisted Officer Duran during the incident and observed that Vernon May appeared intent on hurting someone, Deputy Newhouse also fired his gun at Vernon May. A total of 10 shots were fired, nine by Officer Duran and one by Deputy Newhouse.

Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson announced today that he has concluded, after a thorough review of the facts surrounding the death and determined Officer Duran and Deputy Newhouse were legally justified when they used deadly force that resulted in Mr. May's death.

Access to the evidence obtained by the BCA during their investigation into this incident, as well as other investigative reports compiled in this case may be accessed by contacting the BCA Public Information Officer Jill Oliveira at 651-793-2726.

https://lptv.org/bemidji-police-officers-cleared-in-shooting-death-of-vernon-may/