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Jerry Va Thao

Age : 42

Gender : Male

Race : Asian

Date : 08/28/2025

Location : 1200 block of Ottawa Avenue

City : West St. Paul

County : Dakota

State : Minnesota

Agency : St. Paul Police Department; West St. Paul Police Department; South Metro SWAT Team; Apple Valley Police Department

Officer(s) :Sgt. Sean Marben

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during standoff

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/28/2025, St. Paul police notified West St. Paul police at approximately 11 a.m. that they intended to arrest 42-year-old Jerry Va Thao at a residence in the 1200 block of Ottawa Avenue in West St. Paul. Police were seeking Thao on multiple felony warrants and also alleged that he had violated an order for protection the previous day. Police confirmed that Thao was inside the basement after other people were evacuated from the residence.
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Police surrounded the residence and repeatedly attempted to get Thao to come outside. The South Metro SWAT Team, a multi-agency tactical unit, took command of the operation at approximately 2:15 p.m. Police negotiators attempted to communicate with Thao by telephone, and officers also used drones and robotic equipment to obtain information from inside the house.
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According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Thao allegedly fired repeatedly from inside the residence during the hours-long barricade. Police reported that gunfire struck a handheld ballistic shield carried by an officer and an armored SWAT vehicle. Police subsequently deployed chemical irritants into the residence, but Thao remained inside.
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At approximately 6:30 p.m., Apple Valley Police Sgt. Sean Marben, who was participating as a member of the South Metro SWAT Team, was positioned on a SWAT vehicle outside the residence. The BCA said Marben saw Thao armed at the bottom of the basement stairs. West St. Paul police provided the more specific allegation that Thao pointed a long gun toward officers. Marben then fired his department-issued rifle, striking Thao.
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Police entered the residence and provided medical aid. Thao was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators recovered two firearms and cartridge casings from the residence as well as the damaged ballistic shield. Officers participating in the operation were wearing activated body cameras.
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The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office subsequently identified the man killed as Jerry Va Thao, 42, of St. Paul. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension publicly identified Marben as the officer who fired the fatal shot.
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The West St. Paul Police Department requested that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conduct the independent investigation. The BCA said its completed investigation would be submitted without a charging recommendation to the Dakota County Attorney's Office for review.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
Sgt. Sean Marben of the Apple Valley Police Department fired the shot that killed Jerry Va Thao. Marben was serving with the multi-jurisdictional South Metro SWAT Team during the operation.
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Marben was previously involved in a 2018 arrest that resulted in both suppression of evidence and a federal civil-rights lawsuit. On 05/20/2018, Marben encountered James Paul Aery asleep in a vehicle in an Apple Valley Walmart parking lot. Marben woke Aery, and after another officer arrived, police searched Aery and recovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Aery was subsequently prosecuted for drug possession.
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A Dakota County judge later ruled that the search was unconstitutional. The prosecution conceded that the search was impermissible on its face but argued that the evidence would inevitably have been discovered because police had probable cause to arrest Aery for impaired driving. The judge rejected that argument, found insufficient probable cause for an impaired-driving arrest, suppressed the evidence and dismissed the criminal case.
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Aery subsequently filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit in January 2020 naming Marben, another Apple Valley officer and a Dakota County prosecutor. Aery's claims against Marben and the other officer were dismissed with prejudice by stipulation in September 2020.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/bca-releases-names-of-suspect-officer-involved-in-deadly-west-st-paul-standoff/
https://hoodline.com/2025/09/bca-identifies-st-paul-man-in-fatal-west-st-paul-police-encounter-apple-valley-officer-on-leave-after-standoff-shooting/
https://www.startribune.com/investigators-identify-man-killed-during-west-st-paul-standoff-with-police/601466680
https://www.limitless-news.com/local/weststpaulstandoffupdate
https://dps.mn.gov/news/bca/bca-identifies-man-officer-involved-west-st-paul-force-incident
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/1-dead-after-hourslong-standoff-leads-to-officer-involved-shooting-in-west-st-paul/
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mnd-0_20-cv-00055/pdf/USCOURTS-mnd-0_20-cv-00055-0.pdf