Authorities, Family Identify Man Fatally Shot By Coon Rapids Police During Reported Domestic

Authorities, Family Identify Man Fatally Shot By Coon Rapids Police During Reported Domestic

His son said that Robert Edward Davis, 65, had been ailing.

Robert Davis and his children (Provided by Ed Davis)

Family members and authorities on Friday identified the man fatally shot and killed by Coon Rapids police during what officials said was a domestic disturbance.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said that Robert Edward Davis, 65, of Coon Rapids, died of a gunshot wound. The shooting occurred just after noon Wednesday at a home in the 300 block of 111th Avenue NW., police said.

According to a news release Friday from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Coon Rapids officers were called to a domestic incident by a woman who reported that a man with a knife, later identified as Davis, had cut her and was still in the home.

While officers negotiated with Davis to drop the knife and surrender, telling him that he was under arrest, the woman and another man fled the home, the BCA said.

Officer Steve Minion fired a less-lethal launcher toward Davis and officers told him to drop the knife, but Davis resisted. When Officer Michael Blair fired his less-lethal launcher, Davis moved toward Officer Timothy Morin, who then shot him.

Davis tried to get up, but he was tased by Officer Emily Giese and taken into custody. Despite life-saving measures performed at the scene, he later died at Mercy Hospital.

Davis and the woman who called police were in a long-term relationship and living in the home where the shooting occurred. She was treated for an injury to her hand, the BCA said.

Davis’ son, Ed, said Friday that his father “was not a woman abuser. My father had a 2-inch tumor on his brain. My father was the kindest person you would ever meet. ...

“He was sick. This was in no way, shape or form a domestic issue.”

Authorities recovered a folding utility knife at the scene, and officer-worn body cameras recorded the incident. The officers involved were placed on standard administrative leave, and the Coon Rapids Police Department asked the BCA to investigate.

Since 2000, at least 243 people have been killed in encounters with law enforcement, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database.

SOURCE: Star Tribune