The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has identified the officer who discharged his firearm during a use-of-force incident on April 7 just south of Crookston. Crookston Police Department Officer Sean Murphy has been in law enforcement for 14 years. The police department has placed him on standard critical incident leave.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the man injured during the incident. Caleb Coffey, 34, of Oklahoma, was released from Altru Hospital on Tuesday into Polk County Sheriff’s Office custody and was booked into the Northwest Regional Corrections Center in Crookston.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiated a pursuit of Coffey’s vehicle in North Dakota at the Pembina Port of Entry on the morning of April 7. Multiple law enforcement agencies joined to assist with the pursuit, which ultimately made its way into Marshall County, Minnesota. The pursuit of Coffey’s vehicle continued south into Polk County on Highway 75 through Crookston. Law enforcement stopped Coffey’s vehicle just west of the city in the westbound lane of County Road 9 immediately west of County Road 16.
According to the BCA’s preliminary investigation, as law enforcement attempted to take Coffey into custody, he exited his vehicle holding a handgun. At one point, Officer Murphy discharged his weapon, striking Coffey. Officers provided medical assistance until paramedics transported him to the hospital where he was treated for a non-life threatening injury. No other people were inside the vehicle. No law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office requested that the BCA conduct an investigation of the use-of-deadly force incident.
The BCA has obtained body camera and squad camera video that will be reviewed as part of the active investigation. A firearm was recovered from near where Coffey was injured.
The BCA investigation is in its early stages. Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will provide its findings without recommendation to the Polk County Attorney’s Office for review.
