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Troy Allen Engstrom

Age : 48

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/22/2021

Location : County Road H2 and Jackson Drive

City : Mounds View

County : Ramsey

State : Minnesota

Agency : Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office; Mounds View Police Department

Officer(s) :Ramsey County Deputy Donald Rindal

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Killed by police vehicle during armed mental health crisis

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 09/22/2021, 48-year-old Troy Allen Engstrom of Shoreview died after Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Donald Rindal intentionally drove his squad SUV into Engstrom during a police response to a mental health crisis and reported domestic assault in Mounds View.
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The encounter began at approximately 6:20 a.m., when Mounds View police responded to the AmericInn at 2200 Mounds View Boulevard after a hotel employee reported that Engstrom was threatening suicide and might have a gun. Engstrom’s girlfriend had reported that he was threatening to kill himself with her semiautomatic 9mm handgun. Police initially conducted surveillance of the room but left after determining Engstrom was alone and deciding they did not want to escalate the situation.
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According to the subsequent BCA investigation, Engstrom’s girlfriend later returned to the hotel. She reported that Engstrom said he was going to shoot himself and die that day. She said Engstrom pointed the gun at her after she told him he would have to kill her as well. She left the room and subsequently heard a gunshot.
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After Mounds View Deputy Chief Ben Zender learned that a gun had been fired inside the hotel room, he directed officers to arrest Engstrom. Officers returned at approximately 10:40 a.m., but Engstrom had left the hotel on foot.
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Mounds View Officer Nick Erickson located Engstrom near County Road H2 and Jackson Drive. Erickson stopped his marked squad approximately a block away, activated its emergency lights and positioned himself behind the open driver’s door.
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Police reported that Engstrom fired toward Erickson. Sgt. Rindal was approaching in a Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office SUV and reported seeing Engstrom with a gun and hearing shots. Dashcam video from Rindal’s squad, later publicly released, shows Engstrom on the sidewalk holding a handgun as Rindal approaches. Approximately 19 seconds into the recording, Rindal says, “Got a gun; shots fired,” and drives toward Engstrom. Engstrom appears to fire toward the police vehicles. The publicly released video ends immediately before Rindal’s SUV strikes him.
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Rindal intentionally drove the SUV into Engstrom, pushing him through a wooden fence. Engstrom suffered severe blunt-force injuries. Officers provided medical aid, and he was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died later that day.
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The Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined that Engstrom died from multiple blunt-force injuries caused by the pedestrian-motor vehicle collision and classified his death as homicide.
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Investigators recovered a Taurus 9mm semiautomatic handgun and two cartridge cases. BCA firearms testing determined that both cartridge cases had been fired from the recovered handgun. A bullet recovered near Erickson’s squad was also matched to that firearm. Investigators documented bullet-impact evidence on both Erickson’s Mounds View police SUV and the Ramsey County SUV. DNA testing of blood recovered behind the fence matched Engstrom.
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Engstrom was a Shoreview resident and the son of Darwin “Butch” and Judy Engstrom. His father’s later obituary identified Troy as his son and showed that he was part of a family that included his sister Lori and extended family.
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The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated Rindal’s use of deadly force and submitted its investigative file to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office on 01/25/2022 because the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office requested an outside review.
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On 03/09/2022, Dakota County Attorney Kathryn Keena announced that Rindal would not be criminally charged. Keena concluded that Rindal’s intentional use of the SUV as deadly force was legally justified because the evidence supported his belief that Engstrom presented an imminent deadly threat to Rindal, Erickson and members of the public.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Sgt. Donald Rindal was publicly identified as the Ramsey County deputy who intentionally struck Engstrom with his squad SUV. Rindal had worked for the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office since 1999.
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Rindal previously appeared in federal litigation involving former Ramsey County Sgt. Joyce Shockency’s allegations of political retaliation within the Sheriff’s Office. Court records state that Rindal, a supporter of Sheriff Bob Fletcher, told fellow deputies that Shockency would be removed from her patrol-sergeant position following the election; Shockency was subsequently transferred. Rindal was not a defendant accused of using excessive force against Shockency, and the litigation does not establish that he was personally disciplined or found liable for misconduct.
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The BCA investigated Rindal’s killing of Engstrom. The Dakota County Attorney’s Office subsequently determined that his use of deadly force was legally justified and filed no criminal charges.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/09/29/man-killed-by-police-vehicle-had-history-of-mental-illness
https://www.mncrime.com/latest/rcso-deputys-use-of-force-ruled-justified-in-mounds-view-suspects-death
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/man-fatally-struck-by-squad-car-in-mounds-view-ramsey-co-deputy-identified/89-6687befc-7bfa-41e5-9470-937910cb6570
https://www.startribune.com/ramsey-county-deputy-cleared-after-fatally-running-over-mounds-view-man-who-fired-at-squads/600154474
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/mn-deputy-who-fatally-rammed-man-who-shot-at-police-wont-be-charged
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/prosecutors-deputy-justified-in-fatally-hitting-armed-man-in-mounds-view/
https://www.fox9.com/news/man-who-died-after-being-hit-by-squad-car-in-mounds-view-identified
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/mounds-view-suspect-deputy-identified/
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/man-deputy-involved-in-fatal-mounds-view-incident-are-identified
https://www.fox9.com/news/deputys-use-of-squad-to-strike-kill-armed-man-in-mounds-view-justified-couny-attorney-says
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/crime/prosecutor-finds-ramsey-co-deputy-justified-fatally-hitting-armed-man-with-squad-car-moundsview/89-aa59ff16-47eb-40e2-bf1e-72e5450c535c