After a review of the investigation submitted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Polk County Attorney’s Office has found no evidence of unlawful conduct by law enforcement officers related to the shooting death of Anthony Scott Dale on May 16, 2024, in Crookston, Minnesota, and has concluded that the use of deadly force by Crookston Police Officer Nicholas Fladland was justified under the Minnesota law.
Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth said in a four-page release. The autopsy report indicated Dale’s blood sample contained psilocybin, which is a Schedule I hallucinogenic controlled substance. That could provide one explanation for Dale’s erratic and seemingly irrational behavior on May 16, 2024.
The report also said the Crookston Police Department’s reporting system contained a “caution” regarding Dale, which indicated that he “made suicidal threats by a cop in the past and was a known drug user.
Dale’s wife advised investigators that Dale had been abusive for three years but was worse lately. He was messed up on mushrooms that night. He went berserk in the apartment and acted like a monster, and choked her before leaving the apartment. He said he was going to kill somebody when he left the apartment.
Attorney Widseth ended the report by saying the use of deadly force was justified because it was in the line of duty, objectively reasonable based upon the totality of the circumstances known to him at the time, and necessary to protect himself or others from death or great bodily harm caused by Dale. Had Officer Fladland not stopped Dale, then Officer Fladland or someone else very easily could have been killed or seriously injured by Dale.
The full report is below.
