Police have released footage of a fatal shooting in St. Paul

St. PAUL, Minnesota (FOX 9) – The Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) has released footage showing police officers fatal shooting a suspect in armed murder.

READ MORE: Neighbors recall the St. Paul police shooting that left a man dead

The footage has been released

St. Paul police released footage from multiple angles showing officers closing in on Michael Stower, who was riding a bicycle just before the shooting.

The shooting happened just after 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, near the intersection of Watson Avenue and Bay Street.

READ MORE: MN shoots pregnant ex-wife months after release from prison: charges

The footage shows an officer firing a rifle into the window of a patrol car.

Another officer fired a pistol at Stower after he fell to the ground.

Video footage provided by SPPD shows Stowers holding a gun.

A bystander in the video was near Stowers when he was shot. That bystander appeared to freeze as officers opened fire and entered.

Police have provided a link to footage of the shooting that can be viewed here.

What they say

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry released the following statement Friday afternoon:

“We are committed to the sanctity of independent investigation; we are also committed to the transparency of our actions. That’s why we’re releasing the body camera (BWC) and dashcam video of this incident. No one wants to get caught. Non-use of force is always our goal and is the result of the majority of our officers interacting with families impacting our community and our officers. We hope that by working together as a community, we can prevent similar outcomes in the future.”

Background shooting

BCA says Stowers was wanted in connection with this with the murder of his pregnant ex-wife in St. Paul. Police were acting on a report that he was at a business in the 1100 block of West Seventh Street when they encountered a man matching his description.

According to the BCA’s preliminary investigation, the man left the business on a bicycle and several squad cars collided with him when he reached the intersection of Watson Avenue and Bay Street. Before police could confirm his identity, the man, now identified as Stowers, pulled out a gun and pointed it at police.

Stowers was taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he died.

No one else was injured as a result of the incident.