Jaffort Smith

Foreword

For every police killing, there is a conventional narrative that is spread by police and the County Attorney to avoid holding law enforcement officers accountable. The Reinvestigation Workgroup with Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) researches all of the available evidence to find disparities in that narrative. We disseminate the authentic narrative to the families, to their attorneys, and to the media and community.

The analysis of the killing of Jaffort Smith relies on data from the St Paul Police Department (SPPD) and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)). The Reinvestigation Workgroup read the 650-page BCA investigative report which includes officer and witness interviews, call transcripts, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) notes, laboratory reports and more. They also reviewed the audio and video, including squad camera footage and interviews, provided by the BCA and SPPD. CUAPB submitted data requests with the City of St Paul to collect additional data. Supplemental video footage, news articles, and other pieces of data were collected from online sources and news outlets. CUAPB interviewed and collaborated with friends and family members of Jaffort Smith to complete their analysis.

The Reinvestigation Workgroup works to support the families of stolen lives taken by law enforcement in Minnesota. Previous investigation reports and the monthly Stolen Lives Justice Fund newsletter can be found online at cuapb.org.

Case Overview

On May 9th, 2016, 33-year-old Jaffort Smith was shot 19 times and killed by St Paul Police officers Jeff Korus, John Corcoran, Michael Tschida, and Mark Grundhauser.

There were a total of ten officers responding to a 911 call requesting a domestic involving a man assaulting a woman. The 911 call was made by Roxanne Schuster from Rapid Recovery Towing in St. Paul, Minnesota.

No charges were brought against the officers in the aftermath of this incident by a grand jury convened by former Washington County Attorney Pete Orput. Jaffort’s family, loved ones, and community deserve a complete explanation of this incident and the mistakes that were made.

The events that unfolded after the officers arrived at the scene will be described thoroughly in this report. Our investigation shows that Jaffort Smith died due to:

A failure of the St Paul police department to provide proper training to dispatch and police officers and to provide non-lethal training to properly apprehend Jaffort.

A failure of the SPPD officers to recognize Jaffort was in a mental health crisis.
A failure of the SPPD to use their training and SPPD policy to guide their response in order to de-escalate the situation and provide Jaffort with crisis intervention and the care he needed.

Additionally, we assert that several actors, including the Washington County Attorney and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, failed to demonstrate appropriate accountability and investigate the incident more thoroughly to get the truth of what happened. The Washington County Attorney, Pete Orput, offered an imprecise account of what happened before, during, and after the incident which we will also uncover in this report.

This report provides a thorough review of this incident, showing that this police killing should not have occurred and demonstrating the need for an official independent review of the case. The report includes conclusions and recommendations to prevent further needless death at the hands of St Paul police department.

Definitions

CAD (Computer-aided dispatch) – Computer-aided dispatch is a networked dispatch system used to coordinate emergency services.

EDP (Emotionally disturbed person) – Emotionally disturbed person is law enforcement jargon for persons suffering a mental health crisis.

Incident Chronology

At about 3:30am on May 9th, 2016, Jacob Kreun was sitting in his tow truck in the parking lot of Rapid Recovery Towing. His tow truck was facing east on Acker St. E on the south side of the road. Kreun saw a black man and a white female on the sidewalk behind Hoovers Pub which

was across the street. Kreun noticed the black man, who we now know was Jaffort Smith, had pushed the female (Beverly Joan Flowers) up against the wall and struck her in the face. Kreun just watched this incident and did not call 911 or do anything but observe Jaffort and Beverly walking around. Kreun heard some of the arguments between Jaffort and Beverly. In between the back and forth, Kreun heard swear words and heard Beverly say, “Just do it then.” As Jaffort walked by Kreun’s tow truck, he looked at Kreun and said, “everything is fine.” Kreun felt that Jaffort was carrying a gun because of a bulge in his waistline. At this point, Jaffort and Beverly went out of view for a few minutes. When the two of them came back into view, Beverly went into the door of Rapid Recovery Towing. According to Kreun, he watched Jaffort take out his gun, kick open the door and go in after Beverly. Kreun, knowing his co worker Roxanne was inside, did nothing. Once again, he just sat in his tow truck waiting for his next call.

Rapid Recovery Towing dispatcher, Roxanne, talked briefly to Beverly and was surprised by Jaffort coming inside the small customer lobby. Roxanne went into the backroom briefly and Jaffort and Beverly left.

Kreun, still sitting inside his tow truck waiting for his next tow, said in his statement that he watched Jaffort dragging Beverly by her arm as they walked down the street heading east on Acker. Kreun then radioed Roxanne to tell her that Jaffort had a gun. Roxanne called 911. St. Paul Dispatch added the call to the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system that is accessible by the squad computers and aired it over the radio. There were four officers directly involved in the shooting and six officers that witnessed the shooting.

The following officers responded:

l. Mark Grundhauser, who discharged his weapon.

2. Michael Tschida, who discharged his weapon.

3. John Corcoran, who discharged his weapon.

4. Jeffery Korus, who discharged his weapon.

5. David Galli, who did not fire his weapon.

6. Peter Baldwin, who did not fire his weapon

7. Jamie Smrstick, who did not fire his weapon

8. Jason Pedersen, who did not fire his weapon

9. Colman Rutschow, who did not fire his weapon

10. Laura Ueland, who did not fire her weapon.

The officers arrived at different times and were in different positions around the property and the street. For all of the officers who fired their weapons, excerpts of their statements are below. Officer John Corcoran arrived first on scene, Officer Tschida was right behind him, Officer Baldwin arrived shortly after, followed by Officer Grundhauser.

Statement of Officer John Corcoran

Excerpt from Officer Corcoran’s Statement

“Officer Corcoran reported seeing both subjects while he was driving east on Acker. He reported he believed Officer Korus and Baldwin arrived as backup and they approached the black male (later fully identified as Jaffort Demont Smith, dob/04-18-1983), and white female (later fully identified as Beverly Joan Flowers, dob/03-20-1967) who were walking in the middle of the street. He indicated Smith was aggressively pulling Flowers as they walked. Officer Corcoran indicated as he got out of his squad, he saw Smith turn his head toward him before he observed Smith shoot Flowers one time in the head. He reported seeing the muzzle flash from the weapon. He indicated he immediately retreated to his squad for cover while observing Smith flee from the scene in a northwest direction. He believed Smith fired 2 – 3 shots at him while he was fleeing. Officer Corcoran said he returned fire and pursued Smith to a nearby garage where he used the corner of the garage for cover. He indicated Smith fired more rounds at him from the opposite side of the garage and that he returned fire with approximately three rounds. Officer Corcoran indicated he believed he struck Smith two times based on watching him flinch after he fired his weapon. Officer Corcoran reported the subject continued back and forth on the west side of the garage and he repositioned himself behind cover near the street. He indicated he eventually fired one or two more rounds from a position near the street. Officer Corcoran reported that he and several responding officers gave repeated verbal commands to Smith to drop the weapon. He reported that Smith was not complying with commands and was raising his weapon toward them when the final rounds were fired by officers. He indicated Smith said two or three times “ … just kill me.” Officer Corcoran indicated that during this incident he was afraid for his own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of other responding officers.”

CUAPB Analysis and Observations

● Officer Corcoran did not actually see Jaffort shoot Beverly. He saw a muzzle flash and heard the gun discharge. There was 1 casing found near the location and a bullet hole that went through a post on the front porch ● Officer Corcoran retreated back into his squad but still believed Jaffort shot at him two or three times. There is no ballistic evidence to confirm this, neither casings near Jaffort, nor bullets or bullet holes in Corcoran’s squad car. ● Officer Corcoran then states he got out of his squad, returned fire, and pursued Jaffort up the driveway. Officer Corcoran’s cartridge cases were found on the narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall and the grass between the sidewalk and Buffalo Street. His other six cartridge casings were found on the south side of the driveway to the garage. ● Officer Corcoran states that when Jaffort shot at him from behind the garage, he shot back three times. ● Officer Corcoran claims he could see Jaffort well enough in the dark to see him flinch twice after shooting him. Despite knowing Jaffort had been hit, Officer Corcoran kept pursuing Jaffort because Jaffort was “playing cat and mouse” with them and hiding behind the garage.

Statement of Officer Michael Tschida

Officer Michael Tschida arrived after Officer Corcoran. The below information is from Officer Tschida’s statement.

Excerpt from the Officer Tschida’s Statement

“Uh so then, I was already in the process of getting out of my squad. I end up jumping out of my squad. I take about five, ten steps and observe the uh black male start to run um through uh through a yard. Kind of towards a garage. As he’s running I can see that he has a, a pistol in his hand. Um he kinda starts to slow down. Turns towards me. Looks back at me. Um, as he does that kinda turns his body a bit. I see the handgun in his hand. And he had just shot the female. My assumption was that he was gonna turn and shoot me and .. so at the time I had stopped, took a shooting stance and fired one shot at him. When I did that he disappeared around uh a garage. And Officer Corcoran and I kinda ran up to the, ran up to the garage. So I stopped. I started to back up uh back towards the street to find some cover cuz I, knew that he was back behind the garage. I started yelling for, uh Officer Corcoran to back up. (inaudible) John back up, John back up, John back up. All of a sudden John went to the south side of the garage and as John peeks around the corner to the south side of the garage I hear gunshots being fired from behind the garage. Um I also see John returning fire uh at the sound of those gunshots. I didn’t see the suspect at that time. But then I saw John, move back north to use the garage as cover. And I continued to back up towards the street. And then all of a sudden I saw the male pop out again. As the male pops out again he ends up seeing John again. Before I could fire at him John kinda moves in my, into my line of fire. John exchanges more rounds with him. And then uh I kept yelling for John to back, John to back up. I finally ran back to uh the, the sidewalk area where there’s about a three foot ledge and there’s also a large tree. And I took cover behind the tree. I started calling out stuff on the radio of uh shots being fired, needing more cars.
From there as we’re sitting there waiting for people we’re standing we have the guy at gunpoint and giving him several orders. Show your hands, show your hands, show your hands. And he keeps on moving. His feet are towards us. His head’s away from us. And every once in a while you could see him kind of roll and move as he’s like trying to get up and then all of a sudden boom there the handgun is again in his hand, muzzle direction in our direction. I fired, few more shots then. Um … He was laying on his at, at that point he was laying on his side or …. He was, he was laying, he was laying on his side. On his side looking directly at us with the gun on his uh he was on his right side with his gun on, on the left side of him. He was holding it with his left hand Um, and then he ends up taking the gun at one time and as he held it up I could see that the slide was back. And I didn’t know if it was like a malfunction or if it was, or if it was out of rounds. And I saw him hit it like against his side so I don’t know if he was trying to clear a malfunction or what he was trying to do with it. Um still had it in his hands. Uh, I requested like a long gun, being a shotgun or an AR in the process of the shots being fired. And that’s when several other cops arrived. Officer Grundhauser had a, had the long gun and he was crouched on the retaining wall to my right. And while the uh, the suspect had the gun saw and heard um Officer Grundhauser fire several rounds from the shot gun.. And then the suspect I would probably estimate, fifty feet. Um and then eventually uh the suspect stopped moving enough and actually when he picked up the gun at one time, dropped it kind of far enough away and stopped making movements that we were able to kind of get a team to go up and handcuff him.” (bold added for emphasis)

Statement of Peter Baldwin

Excerpt of Officer Baldwin’s Interview

Um, but I could take a view um, of the male laying um, with his head, he was laying um, on his stomach, moving around, his legs were facing us. His head uh, were facing west. And the male was moving around a lot, his arms and hands, um, and my first view at one point I could see he was getting up off his stomach onto his knees, and his hands were moving around. Um, and I believe at that point some shots were fired. I didn’t shoot, um, just because I didn’t have a, um, piece of cover to continually be behind besides Officer Korus and he was standing behind a piece of cover, so I didn’t really wanna jog between him and the cover, not being able to continually view um, the suspect. Okay, um, so at that point um, I was standing behind Officer Korus. He’s behind what I believe is a tree. I’m seeing the male movin’ around hands and feet a lot. Um, I start yellin’ commands along with other officers, “lay on the ground, show us your hands, stop moving”. The man’s moving frantically. He’s yelling something and I can’t hear at that point what he’s yelling. Um, but he gets up from laying on his stomach onto his knees and hands and he’s movin’ around and I just see his left hand come out and it’s got big black object in it and I can hear someone yellin’ that he’s got the gun. Um, and believe at that point several shots are fired from the officers. I’m not sure who. Um, but I don’t have a lane of fire to stay continually under cover and fire. Um, the male’s still movin’ around. He goes back down on his stomach after the shots were fired. “Stay on the ground, keep your hands down, keep your hands down. Stop moving”. And they two times that I came up to look, he’s moving, hands are movin’ around, he’s up on his knees and hands, um, multiple times and um, at least once his hand, his hand comes out to the left and has what looks like black gun in his hand, and that’s what was described is a black Glock .45 caliber by the caller originally.

CUAPB Analysis and Observations

● Officer Baldwin’s statement shows Jaffort on his stomach in a very defenseless position on his stomach with his feet facing the officers. It makes the idea of Jaffort pointing a gun and attempting to shoot anyone questionable.
● Officer Baldwin also states that Jaffort was on his knees attempting to get up which means his hands had to be on the ground steadying himself to get up.
● The majority of his gunshot wounds are consistent with Jaffort laying on the ground or parallel to the ground.
● According to the family, Jaffort had a knee injury that would have made it impossible to put his weight on his knees like the officer describes.
● Officer Baldwin also claims that Jaffort then was on his knees waving a gun in his left hand, but he could not see that the slide lock was back like Officer Tschida did?

Statement of Mark Grundhauser

The BCA file failed to include that actual interview transcript of Officer Mark Grundhauser’s interview. The following is taken from the summary of his interview provided by the BCA.

Excerpt From Officer Grundhauser’s Interview Summary

Ofc Corcoran later came on the radio to advise that he found the male on foot on Buffalo near Acker. Ofc Grundhauser said he could tell from Ofc Corcoran’ s voice that he was unusually stressed. The distress he heard in Ofc Corcoran’s voice, spurred them to head there with lights and sirens from Holiday, but then he heard Ofc Corcoran say that shots were being fired. Upon arrival, Ofc Grundhauser parked and grabbed the squad shotgun and racked a round into the chamber. Ofc Grundhauser went up to the west side of 787 Buffalo and saw that Ofc Corcoran was giving commands to a man on the west side of the house. Ofc Corcoran and Ofc Tschida were giving the man commands to drop his gun and give up. Ofc Grundhauser was on the sidewalk behind a roughly 3 ft high retaining wall with his shotgun pointed west at the suspect who he now saw laying on his back in the grass. Ofc Grundhauser could not see the suspect’s hands but he heard other officers ordering the suspect to give up and drop the gun. Ofc Grundhauser said he was shocked to hear the suspect say something to the effect of “Y’all are going to have to shoot me” or “You’re gonna have to kill me” which caused Ofc Grundhauser to feel considerable surprise that the man was not going to comply. Shortly thereafter, the man raised his right hand with towards where Ofc Corcoran and Tschida were standing and a black gun was visible in the suspect’s hand. Ofc Grundhauser then began firing his shotgun at the suspect because he said he feared for the safety of his fellow officers and also himself. Ofc Grundhauser did not recall seeing if the suspect fired a round at them or what other officers were firing at the suspect if any. Once the shotgun was empty, Ofc Grundhauser dropped it and drew his pistol and assessed the situation. He saw the suspect was no longer moving and then Ofc Corcoran and the K9 officer moved in to check the suspect. They then dragged him away from the gun and watched him while medical help was called. Ofc Grundhauser reiterated that when he saw the man sweep his pistol across other officers, he felt that their lives were in danger. Ofc Grundhauser said he fired to protect their lives and possibly his own. The suspect was given ample time to comply with the commands that officers were giving him and he refused. The statement the suspect made of “Y’all are going to have to kill me” told Ofc Grundhauser that this incident had the potential to go bad.

CUAPB Analysis and Observations

● Officer Grundhauser could at first see Jaffort’s hands.
● Officer Grundhauser claims Jaffort had the gun in his RIGHT hand. This contradicts his fellow officers’ statements about the gun in Jaffort’s left hand.
● Officer Grundhauser states he saw Jaffort laying on his back on the grass. However, the multiple pellet wounds Jaffort suffered are consistent with him lying on his stomach, face down, or parallel to the ground.
● It should also be noted that Officer Grundhauser’s interview transcript was the only officer interview that the BCA failed to provide in our data request. Officer Grundhauser fired the shotgun and caused the majority of Jaffort’s injuries.

Statement of Jeff Korus

Excerpt From Officer Korus’ Interview

he rolls over and I had my I have a weapon mounted light on my handgun, and I had that set to a steady on position I wasn’t manually … holding it on. So I, he was illuminated by my light and I believe maybe another officer’s light. And when he rolls over I can see what I recognize in his hand to be a gun. I can see the metallic, as he rolls over. And in my head I see it and I recognize that’s a gun. So I’m taking a cover position. Now he’s on his other side. And, I can hear someone yelling to get the female outta there and I don’t, there’s a lotta yelling going on and I’m yelling at this guy to drop the gun and show me your hands. Being that he still has this gun not only am I afraid for myself I felt, I wasn’t comfortable but I had concealment from the house. But I didn’t, I still didn’t know what the other officers had for concealment or if they had been injured. He starts to move again and I can see the suspect’s head come up and I can see his arm start to move again. In my head I recognize he’s trying to see where we are and he may shoot at us again and I don’t want my partners to get seriously injured, killed and I don’t want it to happen to me or someone that’s in the house or across the street. At that time I discharged my firearm, towards the suspect. I would guess three to five times but I don’t know that for sure. He did, get rolled over at some point. I don’t know how it happened but he was on his other side. At that point Officer Corcoran yelled over to me and ca, ran over to me and said we need to get the female outta here. I turn around I see Officer Baldwin that was already dealing with the female trying to move her away from the situation. As, at the same time that’s happening I hear someone yell that we need a rifle to provide better cover from a farther distance. So I go to my car and grab my rifle knowing that, the suspect is, most likely been injured based on how he’s moving around and he’s not his animation is really slowed down. I grabbed my rifle. I return I take cover behind a retaining wall and I hold cover. That’s when I see other officers, after some time slowly approach the suspect. There was a K-9 there. And as we move up Officer Corcoran places him into handcuffs. To his right side or to the north of where he was laying I see a black handgun. And then immediately Officer Tschida began asking for tourniquets and I provided him with my tourniquet and they were applied to the suspect.

CUAPB Analysis and Observations

– Korus claims he saw the metallic on the gun but there is no metallic on that weapon.

Statement of Jamie Smrstick

Officer Jamie Smrstick did not use his weapon and he also admitted he was not afraid.

Excerpt from Officer Smrstick’s Statement

He was facing away from us so I could mostly just see his feet. But he kept um I think he was on his back. I’m not positive. Think he was on his back. Not right away he wasn’t moving but we kept, someone said you know he’s still got the gun in his hand. And then he started, rocking side to side. Then I heard him yell, just shoot me, just shoot me or maybe it was just kill me, just kill me. It was one of those two. And then he started doing this, like he was laying on his back and he was waving the gun above him as he was yelling that.

Agent CO: Did you see the firearm? JS Yes. CO Can you describe it? JS It was a black, handgun. When I, after we got up next to him I saw it was a Glock. Yeah I could see a black handgun.

Agent CO: Okay. And you, you had your AR there and you elected not to shoot because? JS Um because it, it just happened so fast these officers had shot, you know … CO Um-hm. JS … and, their rounds were effective. CO Okay so it wasn’t necessary? JS Right. CO Okay. And uh were you afraid? JS (sigh) I, I don’t believe I was. But I think a lot of it is because, I don’t know I, I knew there were you know seven, eight of us on scene so I, I really wasn’t. CO Were you afraid uh for the health and safety of, of others? JS Yes. I remember specifically when I heard Officer Corcoran on the radio saying he was being shot at, I was very afraid at that moment. Yes when he started waving the gun someone yelled gun, that he still had the gun in his hand and that’s when people fired. MB And you saw the gun as he was … JS Yes. MB … bringing it up (inaudible) JS Yes. MB Alright. CO Do you remember who yelled gun? JS (sigh) no. Think uh it was the people over my right shoulder.

CUAPB Analysis and Observations

● Officer Smrstick could see Jaffort’s position and that he was facing away from him and his fellow officers.
● Officer Smrstick claims Jaffort had the gun in his hand. But he does not see the slide lock was back on Jaffort’s gun, allegedly.
● Officer Smrstick admits he was not afraid.

Timeline of Officer Arrival

Below are two tables, the first representing the timeline of when officers arrived on scene at 787 Buffalo. This was put together with video from Rapid Towing and Recovery, and footage from the officers’ squad cars camera and mics. The second table is for ballistics of all the weapons used and the evidence of casings, bullets, and the shotgun pellets. There are also photos of the evidence below the ballistics table.

Time	What Happened	Source
3:18:50	Bev enters Rapid Towing’s lobby	Lobby video (adj time stamp)
3:19:08	Jaffort enters Rapid Towing’s lobby	Lobby video (adj time stamp)
3:20:14	Jaffort and Bev leave Rapid Towing’s lobby	Lobby video (adj time stamp)
3:37:22	Ueland/Rutschow squad camera turns on	Ueland/Rutschow squad video
3:37:35	Baldwin/Korus squad camera turns on	Baldwin/Korus vid1
3:37:37	Grundhauser/Pederson squad camera turns on	Grundhauser/Pederson squad video
3:37:39	Smrstick squad camera turns on	Smrstick squad video
3:37:52	Galli squad camera turns on	Galli squad video
3:37:54	Beard/Jaworski squad camera turns on	Beard/Jaworski squad video
3:38:11	“Shots fired” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:12	First sound of gunshot	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:12	03:38:15 five gunshots	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:16	Baldwin/Korus park	Baldwin/Korus
03:38:17 –	squad vehicle parks	Baldwin/Korus
3:39:21	Grundhauser/Pederson park	Grundhauser/Pederson squad video
3:39:26	Smrstick parks right behind Grundhauser/Pederson Smrstick squad video
3:38:28	unintelligible screaming	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:30	Ofc. 1, “Lay on the ground! Hands out to your side! Lay on the ground!” Ofc. 2, “Put your hands up!” Ofc. 1, “Lay on the ground! Lay on the ground!” Ofc. 2, “Get down!”	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:37	“Hands up!”	Baldwin & Korus
3:38:39	“Lay on the ground!”	Baldwin & Korus
3:38:37	“Get down!”	Baldwin & Korus
3:38:43	“Help me! Help me!”	Baldwin & Korus
3:38:44	Another gunshot	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:44	9-10 gunshots	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:50	“Drop it! Drop the gun!”	Baldwin/Korus
3:38:54	one gunshot	Baldwin/Korus

3:38:58	“Drop it!”	Baldwin/Korus
3:39:04	“Okay. Everybody, just everybody (calm? come?), come north on Buffalo.” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus
3:39:05	03:39:05 – 03:39:38 – unintelligible	Baldwin/Korus
3:39:38	unintelligible	Baldwin/Korus
3:39:39	sirens, another vehicle approaches	Baldwin/Korus
3:39:46	Galli parks	Galli squad video
	Ueland/Rutschow park right behind Galli	Ueland/Rutschow squad video
3:39:53	“Watch the window. Watch the, watch the fucking window.”	Baldwin/Korus
3:40:04	“We don’t need anybody else at the scene. We’re trying to get them to comply.” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus
3:40:11	03:40:15 – 8 or 9 gunshots	Baldwin/Korus
3:40:22	“More shots fired.” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus
3:40:22	03:41:20 – illegible	Baldwin/Korus
3:40:46	“…right next to the gun”
3:41:23	Ofc. “We got the female.”	Baldwin/Korus
3:41:31	“Negative, I can’t see it!”	Baldwin/Korus
3:41:51	“Are the medics (inaudible) and what location are they going to?” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus
3:41:51	03:42:48 – illegible	Baldwin/Korus
3:42:48	video captures an officer running on sidewalk	Baldwin/Korus
3:42:51	second officer appears in video, running on sidewalk, following first officer	Baldwin/Korus
3:42:53	third and fourth officers appear in video, guns drawn, running on road in same direction as other officers	Baldwin/Korus
03:43:04 –	all officers exit camera frame	Baldwin/Korus
03:43:10 –	“Cops, what is your exact location for the male?” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus
3:43:15	“787 Buffalo”	Baldwin/Korus
3:43:19	“Copy. And is the female already in the (inaudible)?” on dispatch	Baldwin/Korus

03:43:23 –	Ofc. “(inaudible)… female is not … (inaudible)… hit in the face	Baldwin/Korus
03:43:23 –	– 03:43:35 – male on dispatch “(inaudible) female is not in the rig (inaudible) were at Buffalo and Acker with her. She is not shot. Looks like she’s hit in the face. (inaudible)”	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:43:25 –	03:43:25 – parks car on side of road just before intersection of Acker and Buffalo	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:43:32 –	03:43:32 – another squad pulls up to the intersection of Acker and Buffalo	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:43:35 –	03:43:35 – female on dispatch “copy, (inaudible) 787 Buffalo for the male gunshot wound victim and the female is at Buffalo and Acker for facial wounds at 3:43”	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:43:36	male officer walking on sidewalk towards intersection	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:43:42 –	another male officer walking on road towards intersection	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:44:01	– third male officer walking on road towards intersection (driver/Jaworski?)	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:44:05	male on dispatch “(inaudible)…crime scene tape up here”	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:44:07	female on dispatch “i need a squad to block Acker and I need a squad to block (inaudible)	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:44:19 –	“we got to start taping up here”	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:44:31	speaking to the female victim “what were you hit with?” she mumbles “Were you shot? Were you shot?!”	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:44:42	another squad pulls up just before the intersection of Acker and Buffalo	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:44:48 –	officers appears around side of squad that just arrived with a gun	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
3:45:11	male officer exits driver door of squad car that just arrived	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4
03:44:33 – 03:46:20	Inaudible dispatch from 03:44:33 – 03:46:20	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4

03:46:20 –	03:46:20 – male officer “just a second, I need the (inaudible) (I need the extra key to the squad?)”	Squad Video – Beard_Jaworski.mp4

Ballistics

The officers involved shot numerous times at Jaffort. The diagram below is a rough rendering of the crime scene at 787 Buffalo Street, St. Paul, MN. It is based on crime scene photos, crime scene reports, BCA crime scene diagrams, and officer diagrams and statements.

Item 36, a bullet, was fired by Officer Tschida and was found further down Buffalo Street than what is pictured above. The direction of the bullet suggests that Officer Tschida was firing in a southern direction. All of Officer Tschida’s casings are highlighted in lime green on the diagram above, so Officer Tschida was standing north of the second tree. Officer Tschida was driving squad 1466 and was the second car to arrive. Photos of that bullet are shown in the table below.

Item #36 – Bullet from Officer Tschida found on Buffalo Street

Officer Ballistics

Ballistic Specimens Not Linked to Any Firearms
BCA Item Number (Officer Name)	Location Found	Associated Injuries and/or Trajectory
Item 37 (bullets)	Collected on Buffalo Street between 787 Buffalo Street and Acker Street, south of southmost police car
Item 43 (bullets)	Observed on the ground near the front (east side) of the garage’s south wall.	Southwest of the garage: Item 43 was found on the ground directly below the exterior side of a hole observed in the south wall near the front of the garage approximately seven and a half feet above the ground. The projectile entered the interior side of the south garage wall traveling slightly upward with a southeast directionality and exited the exterior side of the south garage wall. The projectile that made this hole could have originated within the garage or could have been associated with the hole on the north wall of the garage.
Item 58 (bullet fragments)	removed from Beverly Joan Flowers

Officer Tschida, Pistol: Item #55
BCA Item Number	Location Found
Item 18 (magazine)	black magazine loaded with 13 cartridge cases (top cartridge – silver colored with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamp) in the front lawn next to the north tree
Item 25 (cartridge cases)	silver colored cartridge cases with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamps on the sidewalk, narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall, and the grass between the sidewalk and Buffalo Street (all between the south tree and the driveway)
Item 26 (cartridge cases)	same as above
Item 27 (cartridge cases)	same as above
Item 36 (bullets)	Collected on Buffalo Street between 787 Buffalo Street and Acker Street, north of southmost police vehicle

Item 66A (bullets)	Bullet jacket fragments from the left hip of Jaffort Smith
Item 66B (bullets)	Bullet jacket fragments from the left hip of Jaffort Smith
Item 66C (bullets)	One bullet from the left hip of Jaffort Smith
Item 68 (bullets)	Bullets from the underwear of Jaffort Smith
Item 69 (bullets)	Bullets from the underwear from the left thigh of Jaffort Smith
Item 76 (bullets)	Bullets from the rectum of Jaffort Smith
Item 83 (bullets)	Bullets from the left tibia of Jaffort Smith

Officer Corcoran, Pistol: Item #56
BCA Item Number	Location Found
Item 12 (cartridge case)	Group of silver colored cartridge cases with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamp on the south edge of the driveway and grass west of the driveway of the driveway’s short retaining wall
Item 13 (cartridge case)	Same as above
Item 14 (cartridge case)	Same as above
Item 15 (cartridge case)	Same as above
Item 16 (cartridge case)	Same as above
Item 17 (cartridge case)	Silver colored cartridge case with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamp on the north edge of the driveway next to the short retaining wall
Item 28 (cartridge cases)	silver colored cartridge cases with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamps on the sidewalk, narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall, and the grass between the sidewalk and Buffalo Street (all between the south tree and the driveway)
Item 3 (bullet(s))	Bullet on the walkway between the decedent and the garage

Item 5 (bullet(s))	Bullet on the walkway next to the left side of the decedent
Item 70 (bullets)	Bullets from the left foot of Jaffort Smith

Officer Korus, Pistol: Item #59
BCA Item Number	Location Found
Item 29 (cartridge cases)	silver colored cartridge cases with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamps on the sidewalk, narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall, and the grass between the sidewalk and Buffalo Street (all between the south tree and the driveway)
Item 30 (cartridge cases)	silver colored cartridge case with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamp next to the short retaining wall between the south and north trees
Item 31 (cartridge cases)	silver colored cartridge cases with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamps on the sidewalk, narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall, and the grass between the sidewalk and Buffalo Street (all between the south tree and the driveway)
Item 32 (cartridge cases)	same as above
Item 65 (cartridge cases)	agency item 40.1
Item 41 (bullets)	Bullet in the grass just west of the walkway and near the garage
Item 73 (bullets)	Bullets from the right buttocks of Jaffort Smith
Item 80 (bullets)	Bullets from the left knee of Jaffort Smith
Item 81 (bullets)	Bullets from the left tibia of Jaffort Smith

Officer Grundhauser, Pistol: Item #60

BCA Item Number	Location Found	Associated Injuries and/or Trajectory
Item 2 (shot cup)	White shot cup scattered in the grass west of the walkway and west of the decedent	(not officially identified)
Item 4 (shot pellet(s))	Brass colored apparent shot pellet on the walkway between the decedent and the garage	(not officially identified)
Item 7 (shot cup)	White shot cup in the grass east of the walkway within the medical debris	(not officially identified)
Item 8 (shot cup)	White shot cup scattered in the grass west of the walkway and west of the decedent	(not officially identified)
Item 9 (shot cup)	(misclassified as wads on the firearms report?; not mentioned in the crime scene report)	(not officially identified)
Item 10 (shot cup)	(misclassified as wads on the firearms report?; not mentioned in the crime scene report)	(not officially identified)
Item 11 (shot cup)	White shot cup scattered in the grass west of the walkway and north of the decedent	(not officially identified)
Item 19 (fired shot shell)	group of fired red 12 gauge shot shells on the front lawn next to the short retaining wall between the north tree and the driveway
Item 20 (fired shot shell)	same as above
Item 21 (fired shot shell)	same as above
Item 22 (fired shot shell)	same as above
Item 23 (fired shot shell)	fired red 12 gauge shot shells on narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall below Items 19 – 22
Item 24 (fired shot shell)	fired red 12 gauge shot shells on narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the short retaining wall below Items 19 – 22
Item 40 (shot pellets)	Brass colored apparent shot pellet in the grass just west of the walkway between the decedent and the garage

Jaffort Smith’s Handgun, Item #1, Hi Point C9 9mm Luger pistol Found on the ground just west of the walkway between the deceased and the garage. The magazine and the chamber were empty, and the slide was locked back.
BCA Item Number	Location Found	Associated Injuries and/or Trajectory
Item 6 (cartridge case(s))	Brass colored cartridge case with a “Blazer 9mm Luger” headstamp partially buried in the grass just west of the walkway and south of the decedent
Item 39 (cartridge cases)	Brass colored cartridge case with “Blazer 9mm Luger” headstamp on the walkway between the decedent and the garage
Item 42 (bullets)	Found in the siding of the north side of the house approximately fourteen feet above the ground between two windows	North side of house: Bullet traveled upward with a southeast directionality before penetrating the siding of the house. The bullet originated from an area northwest of the hole.
Item 44 (cartridge cases)	brass colored cartridge case with “FC 9mm Luger” headstamp in the grass between the sidewalk and Buffalo Street between the north tree and the driveway

Analysis of Jaffort’s Casings

The following is a description of Jaffort’s casings. Notably, Jaffort’s gun (Hi Point C9 9mm Luger pistol, S/N P1700034) was found on the ground west of the walkway between Jaffort’s body and the garage. The magazine and the chamber were empty, and the slide was locked back.

Items #6 & #39 – Casings Found

Autopsy Information

Basic Info

An autopsy was performed on Jaffort Smith by Assistant Medical Examiner Victor Froloff, M.D. with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office on May 9th, 2016, at 12:15pm. BCA Special Agency Michael Phill was present for the examination. Jaffort Smith was 5 feet 11 inches and weighed 210 pounds. Cause of Death: Exsanguination and cerebral laceration due to multiple gunshot wounds. Summary of gunshot wounds: There were a total of six shotgun “buckshot” wounds and 13 gunshot wounds identified.

Gunshot Wound Information
Gunshot Wound	Description

A	Distant shotgun wound (buckshot) to the head Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Lab Item #: 78	A single pellet entered the lateral aspect of the left eye. Path: – left eyeball, – left orbital plate of the frontal bone – left frontal pole of the brain – continues left to right with cerebral lacerations and contusions. The projectile was recovered from the right temporal area of the brain. Course: front to back with approximately 30 degrees of angulation left to right. Associated injuries: Abrasion and hemorrhage of the left eyeball, fracture of the left orbital plate of the frontal bone, cerebral laceration along the bullet path.
B	Distant shotgun wound (buckshot) to the right arm Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Lab Item #: 72	Six pellet entrances to the anterior right shoulder, right armpit, and posterior right shoulder area were identified. Path: – Two pellets entered the anterior aspect of the right shoulder, – Two pellets entered the right armpit, – Two pellets entered the posterior shoulder, – The bullet path continues through the shoulder. Two pellets were recovered in the right armpit. Four exit wounds were identified. Two exits correspond to the anterior shoulder entrances. Two exits correspond to the posterior shoulder pellets. No soot or stippling was present. Course: upward Associated injuries: n/a
C	Distant shotgun wound (buckshot) to the left femoral area Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Lab Item #: n/a	Seven pellet wounds entered the posterior aspect (back side) of the left femoral area (left thigh). Path: – Left femoral area, – left femoral bone The pellets were recovered from the fracture site of the left femoral bone. Course: back to front Associated injuries: left femoral fracture.
D	Distant gunshot wound (buckshot) to the left buttock area and anal canal Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Lab Item #: n/a	Multiple pellets entered the left buttock area and anal canal. Path & Recovery: – Left buttock area and anal canal, – Two pellets penetrated through the mesentery of the small bowel with “numerous defects,” tail of the pancreas, left dome of the diaphragm, lower lobe of the left lung, and left posterior 5th intercostal space. – Two pellets were recovered in the 4th intercostal space and fractured the left posterior 4th rib. – One pellet continued upward, penetrated the guts, and went through to the right lobe of the liver, where it was recovered. – One pellet penetrated the sacrum and was recovered from the sacrum. – Numerous pellets were recovered from the abdominal cavity. – One pellet exited and re-entered the right buttock area and continued upward. Course: upward Associated injuries: Numerous defects of the mesentery of the small bowel, tail of the pancreas, left dome of the diaphragm, lower lobe of the left lung; fracture of the left posterior 4th rib; left hemothorax; defect of the right lobe of the liver.

E	Distant gunshot wound (buckshot) to the right buttock area Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Ofc. Korus (bullet) Lab Item #: 73 (bullet) n/a (pellets)	Multiple pellets entered the right buttock area. Path: – Pellets entered the right buttock area, – Numerous exit and re-entrance pellet wounds to the lower right abdominal area. – The right abdominal area contains four irregular reentrance shotgun wounds, – Three dark maroon areas of abrasion located in the right suprapubic area and the lateral aspect of the right and left abdomen. – There was a markedly separate gunshot wound to the right buttock area that traveled back to front and upward, fracturing the right femoral bone. Some pellets recovered from the right lateral thigh area. Course: back to front and upward Associated injuries: Abrasions to the right suprapubic area, lateral aspect of the right and left abdomen, fracture of the right femoral bone.
F	Distant shotgun (buckshot) wound to the right lower leg Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Lab Item #: n/a	Three pellets entered the right lower leg area. Path: – Right lower leg, – right knee. One pellet exited, two pellets were located in the right knee, and only one pellet was recovered from the right knee. Course: upward and slightly back to front. Associated injuries: n/a

G	Distant gunshot wound to the left foot Fired by: Ofc. Corcoran Lab Item #: 70	A bullet entered the dorsal aspect of the left foot. Path: – Dorsal aspect of the left foot A non-expanding hollow point bullet was recovered from the left foot. Course: upward Associated injuries: n/a
H	Distant gunshot wound to the right foot Fired by unknown	A bullet entered the sole of the right foot. Path: – Sole of the right foot, – Exited the dorsal aspect of the right foot, – Grazed the right ankle area. The bullet exited the dorsal aspect of the right foot and grazed the right ankle area. No projectile recovered. Course: upward Associated injuries: n/a
I	Distant gunshot wound to the left thigh area Fired by: Ofc. Tschida Lab Item #: 66	Atypical entrance wound of a bullet to the posterior aspect of the left thigh. Path: – Posterior aspect of the left thigh, – Bullet continues back and forth with a fracture to the femoral bone. The markedly deformed fragments of the bullet are recovered at the fracture site. Course: back to front. Associated injuries: Fracture of the left femoral bone.
J	Distant gunshot wound to the right back area Fired by unknown Lab Item #: n/a	The bullet entered the posterior aspect of the right thigh. Path: – Back of the right thigh, – Through the skin tissue upward, – Recovered in the right lower back area. One expanded hollow point bullet recovered from the right lower back area. Course: upward Associated injuries: n/a

K	Distant entrance gunshot wound to the left lower abdominal area Fired by: Ofc. Grundhauser Lab Item #: 77 (pelvis shot pellet)	There is an atypical “double” entrance wound to the lower left abdominal area. Path: – Lower left abdominal area, – the wound continues front to back, left to right, slightly downward, – Edge fracture of the left iliac crest, – urinary bladder, – and small pelvis area. A non-expanded hollow point bullet was recovered in the small pelvis area. Course: front to back, left to right, slightly downward. Associated injuries: Edge fracture of the left iliac crest; hemorrhage around the urinary bladder
L	Distant gunshot wound to the left thigh Fired by: Ofc. Tschida Lab Item #: 69	There is an atypical double gunshot entrance wound to the left abdominal area. Path: – Left abdominal area, – Wound path continues slightly right to left, and slightly downward, – Partially exits the left thigh. The projectile is recovered from the soft tissue under the partial exit wound on the left thigh. Course: right to left and slightly downward. Associated injuries: n/a
	M Distant gunshot wound to the left lower leg Fired by unknown Lab Item #: n/a	One bullet entered the left lower leg. Path: – Left lower leg, – continues front to back and slightly downward, – exits to the medial aspect of the left lower leg. No projectile is recovered. Course: front to back and downward. Associated injuries: n/a

N	Distant gunshot wound to the anterior aspect of the left lower leg Fired by: Ofc. Korus Lab Item #: 80	One bullet entered the anterior (front) aspect of the left lower leg. Path: – Anterior lower leg, – continues upward to the medial aspect of the left knee. An expanded hollow point bullet is recovered from the medial aspect of the left knee. Course: upward Associated injuries: n/a
O	Distant gunshot wound to the left lower extremity Fired by: Ofc. Korus or Ofc. Tschida Lab Item #: 81 or 83, respectively	One bullet entered the left lower extremity. Path: – Left lower extremity, – continues upward with a large ellipsoid and linear fracture to the left tibia. A bullet is recovered from the left tibial head. Course: upward. Associated injuries: large ellipsoid and linear fracture to the left tibia.
P	Distant gunshot wound to the left lower extremity Fired by: Ofc. Korus or Ofc. Tschida Lab Item #: 81 or 83, respectively	One bullet entered the left lower extremity. Path: – Left lower extremity, – continues upward with a fracture of the left tibia, – posterior aspect of the left knee. A bullet is recovered from the soft tissue of the posterior aspect of the left knee. Course: upward. Associated injuries: fracture of the left tibia
Q	Distant gunshot wound to the right leg Fired by unknown Lab Item #: n/a	A bullet entered the anterior aspect of the right leg. Path: – Anterior aspect of the right leg. – continues upward, slightly right to left, – exits the right knee. No projectile recovered; the bullet exited the right knee. Course: upward and slightly right to left. Associated injuries: n/a

R	Distant graze wound to the right leg. Fired by unknown Lab Item #: n/a	The bullet entered the right medial aspect of the right leg. Path: – Medial aspect of the right leg. – continues upward, slightly right to left as an exit wound. No projectile recovered. Course: upward and slightly right to left. Associated injuries: n/a
S	Distant graze wound to the right leg. Fired by unknown Lab Item #: n/a	The bullet entered the medial aspect of the right leg. Path: – Medial aspect of the right leg. – continues upward, slightly right to left through the soft tissue, and subcutaneously as an exit wound. No projectile recovered. Course: upward and slightly right to left. Associated injuries: n/a
II	Fracture of the right superior horn of the thyroid cartilage.

Wounds Matched to the Officer who Fired
Officer	Weapon Information	Shots Fired
Officer Grundhauser	Lab Item #60: Remington Model 11-87 Police 12-gauge shotgun, S/N PC506360	Lab item 78 (GSW A): – Entered lateral left eye – Recovered from right temporal area of brain Lab item 72 (GSW B): – Entered anterior right shoulder, right armpit, and posterior right shoulder – Two pellets recovered in the right armpit Lab item 77 (GSW K): – Entered lower left abdominal area – Recovered in small pelvis area

Officer Tschida	Lab Item #55: Smith & Wesson Model M&P9 9mm Luger caliber pistol, S/N DWD9212	Lab items 66 (GSW I): – Entered the posterior aspect of the left thigh – Recovered from left femoral bone Lab item 69 (GSW L): – Entered the left abdominal area – Partially exits left thigh Lab item 83 (GSW O or P): – Recovered from the left tibia
Officer Korus	Lab Item #59: Glock Model 17 Gen4 9mm Luger caliber pistol, S/N SPD1477	Lab item 73 (GSW E): – Entered right buttock area – Recovered from right buttocks Lab item 80 (GSW N): – Entered anterior aspect of the left lower leg – Recovered from left knee Lab item 81 (GSW O or P): – Recovered from the left tibia
Officer Corcoran	Lab Item #56: Smith & Wesson Model M&P9 9mm Luger caliber pistol, S/N DWD9431	Lab item 70 (GSW G): – Entered the dorsal aspect of the left foot – Recovered from left foot

Jaffort Smith

Foreword

Case Overview

Definitions

Incident Chronology

Statement of Officer John Corcoran

Statement of Officer Michael Tschida

Statement of Peter Baldwin

Statement of Mark Grundhauser

Statement of Jeff Korus

Statement of Jamie Smrstick

Timeline of Officer Arrival

Ballistics

Officer Ballistics

Analysis of Jaffort’s Casings

Autopsy Information

Autopsy Diagrams

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Jaffort Smith

Foreword

Case Overview

Definitions

Incident Chronology

Statement of Officer John Corcoran

Statement of Officer Michael Tschida

Statement of Peter Baldwin

Statement of Mark Grundhauser

Statement of Jeff Korus

Statement of Jamie Smrstick

Timeline of Officer Arrival

Ballistics

Officer Ballistics

Analysis of Jaffort’s Casings

Autopsy Information

Autopsy Diagrams

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