FARGO (KFGO) – North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley has ruled that the actions of the Fargo police officer who shot and killed a man in early July were justified.
28-year-old Shane Netterville died after he was shot in the chest by 11-year veteran officer Adam O’Brien while O’Brien was investigating a call about a suspicious van in a garage in south Fargo on July 8.
Wrigley said at a news conference Monday that when officers arrived on the scene, there was little movement in the van, which had a bullet hole in the windshield. Officers believed there may have been a homicide.
“It eventually became clear that three occupants in the vehicle were alive but the occupant in the back seat was not easily visible to law enforcement. In total, the situation presented a highly dangerous circumstance for officers and anyone in law enforcement. Shane Netterville was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and he was not complying with the lawful commands of Fargo police, including that he show his hands,” Wrigley said.
Wrigley said Netterville ignored police commands and sped out of a garage in the stolen van, narrowly avoiding officers. O’Brien fired once as the van was leaving the garage. Netterville suffered a chest wound and died at a hospital several hours later.
Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski showed dash and body cam video of the incident. Wrigley said he met with the Netterville family earlier Monday and they had seen the footage at that time.
The shooting was investigated by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation directed by Attorney General Wrigley at the request of Cass County State’s Attorney Birch Burdick. O’Brien was placed on paid administrative leave while the case was being reviewed. Zibolski says O’Brien has been approved to return to duty next month.
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