St. Paul police have released body camera video

On Friday, St. Paul police released body camera footage officers fatally shot the murder suspect who allegedly pointed a gun at officers when they confronted him last weekend.

According to police, just after 1:00 p.m. last Saturday, officers received an anonymous tip that Michael Stowers was riding a bicycle in a laundromat in the 1100 block of West Seventh Street. A warrant for Stowers’ arrest was issued when prosecutors charged him on Oct. 24 with the murder of his pregnant wife, Damara Alexis Kirkland.

The video can be viewed at St. Paul Police Department YouTube page.

“We are committed to the sanctity of independent investigation; we are also committed to transparency in our actions,” Police Chief Axel Henry said in a statement Friday. “That’s why we’re releasing body-worn and in-car camera footage of this incident. No one wants detention to lead to the use of any force. Non-use of force is always our goal — and is the result of most of our officer interactions.”

Officers were following the business to determine if Stowers was inside when the same person called again and reported that the man on the bicycle “in front of the business was actually Stowers,” according to a police statement. “Officers set up a perimeter to (try to) deter Stowers from fleeing the property and developed a plan to arrest him.”

The man was riding his bicycle south on Bay Street to Watson Avenue around 1:45 p.m., “where uniformed officers in marked patrol cars pulled him over,” police said.

“Before officers could confirm his identity, the man, now identified as Stowers, pulled a handgun and pointed it at officers,” the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating, said in a statement.

Officer Matthew Foy fired a handgun and Officer Eric Jaworski fired a rifle, according to the BCA. Stowers died a short time later from multiple gunshot wounds at an area hospital.

The BCA said they found a gun at the scene where officers shot Stowers.

When the BCA’s investigation is complete, the agency said it will submit its findings to the Ramsey County District Attorney’s Office to review the legality of the officers’ actions.

Stowers was charged with murdering Kirkland, 35, in her St. Paul’s North End apartment on October 19. An autopsy revealed she was eight to nine weeks pregnant, and one of the murder charges related to the death of her unborn child. baby. Stowers is also accused of shooting a man in the leg after he stole his car and fled the area.

Stowers was released from prison in March In 2008, the murder of a man in St. Paul. He was fired from his job and the Minnesota Department of Corrections said he was under the supervision of their agency and at a halfway house.

Police shot and killed Stowers the third officers of St. Paul from September 26. All three were suspects in the murders, who were allegedly armed with guns when police encountered them.