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A review done of the BCA investigation into the shooting death June 27 of 36-year-old Jamie Crabtree in North Branch, has concluded none of the police action that night justifies a criminal prosecution.

Kevin Magnuson, Washington County Attorney, was asked to conduct the review for potential charges to avoid any conflict of interest related to review by Chisago County Attorney staff.

Magnuson announced this week that the North Branch Officer who utilized deadly force, Duane Southworth, was justified when he shot the subject.  Authorities concluded from body worn camera and squad car mounted camera footage and several months of interviews, that the officer believed Crabtree had pointed a weapon at the police.  

North Branch and Chisago County personnel were sent to the incident scene when the subject’s husband reported about 9 p.m. that Crabtree was intoxicated and had a gun, and was outdoors in North Branch in an agitated state. The caller stated the subject had threatened to commit “suicide by cop.”

Two North Branch officers were the first to have located Crabtree.  Their commands for her to cooperate, according to the Washington County Attorney’s summary of the investigation, were ignored. 

One officer fired “pepperball” rounds after the subject did not relinquish a handgun the officers said they saw the victim holding.  The investigation revealed Officer Southworth fired his department .223 semi automatic rifle at Crabtree when she raised her right arm towards authorities. The county attorney news release said 23 rounds were discharged by the officer.

Both North Branch officers said Crabtree was raising her right arm and holding an object, according to the investigation, “which officers believed to be a gun.”

When a county deputy arrived on scene, they used his patrol car for a “shield” and decided to approach Crabtree, on the ground, to render aid. They still thought she was armed. There was a backpack, gun case, containing loaded magazines and a Glock 9 mm semi automatic handgun found near where Crabtree lay. 

The victim was pronounced dead on the scene and the Washington County Attorney reports the medical examiner found cause of death to be gunshot wounds. There was undisclosed amounts of alcohol and THC present in her system.

Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson concluded, “Police officers must make difficult split second decisions when their lives or lives of others are in danger. Many of those decisions must be made when dealing with people who are undergoing a mental health crisis and who are sometimes suicidal.  When officers make the decision to use lethal force to defend themselves or others, the results can be tragic, as they were in this case.”

The fatal incident sparked community discussion about when and how to utilize intervention by mental health professionals.  The 9-1-1 communicators reviewed their protocols for sending non-law enforcement in the form of rapid response mental health crisis teams that have been mandated under state laws. 

This incident was analyzed specifically, in light of the Chisago County regional system “decision making tree.”  This is an outline designed to walk the dispatcher through behavioral versus public safety criminal aspects of an incident.  The victim, Jamie Crabtree in this situation, did not meet the standards for the crisis team protocols.

Mobile Crisis managers need to know where the subject is, for example.  Crabtree was reported as being on the move, somewhere in North Branch in a general several block area.

The subject could not be communicated with to see if she was amenable to talking with a professional.

She had not already hurt anybody prior to this incident

However, the “decision making tree” does ask the dispatcher to weigh if the subject has a weapon, which Crabtree did. She was uncooperative prior to when her husband called to alert police.

A second issue, whether law enforcement rendered appropriate medical aid under state laws, was addressed by the Washington County Attorney stating officers did not violate Minnesota’s criminal law regarding aid to gunshot victims.

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