# Dakota County grand jury *Grand jury to which the Dakota County Attorney's office has presented fatal officer-involved shootings since 1990.* The **Dakota County grand jury** is the grand jury of Dakota County, [[Minnesota]]. Under an office policy dating to 1990, the [[Dakota County Attorney]]'s office has submitted every fatal officer-involved shooting in the county to it.[^1] The record documents three fatal police shootings in the county between 2008 and 2019. The outcomes were a grand jury no bill in 2008[^2] and a grand jury finding in 2016 that the officers were justified.[^3] The third, in 2019, was a declination by the county attorney's office. No officer was prosecuted in any of the three.[^4] Under [[The purpose of a system is what it does]], the office's account of the practice is set beside its outputs. The project dossier records the office's stated principle that officers "need to be held accountable like everyone else," and that the grand jury receives "a fair and unbiased presentation" with no recommendations.[^5] County Attorney James [[Backstrom]] answered the Kong family's civil suit on November 1, 2016. He said "there was nothing improper done in connection with the use of a grand jury in this case" and that "no recommendations" were made to the grand jury.[^6] Grand jury proceedings are secret. The record contains no transcript or presentation against which that statement can be checked.[^6] On June 4, 2020, the [[Minnesota County Attorneys Association]] met in emergency session and voted to hand every police-involved death case to the state Attorney General. Backstrom supported the transfer, saying it would "improve public trust and bring consistency." The dossier records that the change applied only to future cases; no prior case was reopened.[^7] ## Who The Dakota County Attorney's office presents cases to the grand jury. Backstrom held that office when he answered the Kong suit in November 2016.[^6] The dossier records that he twice led the Minnesota County Attorneys Association.[^7] The record names no grand jurors. Officers appear in the record in official capacity only: - three [[Burnsville]] officers in the 2016 Kong shooting;[^3] - Hastings Sgt. James Galland in the 2008 Rodriguez shooting.[^2] ## What The record attributes these outcomes to the grand jury or the county attorney in fatal police shootings: - **[[Brandon Rodriguez]], [[Hastings]], July 2008.** A Hastings police sergeant fatally shot Rodriguez in a cemetery. The grand jury returned a no bill.[^2] - **[[Map Kong]], Burnsville, June 22, 2016.** Kong, 38, was killed by three Burnsville officers in a McDonald's parking lot. It was the city's first fatal officer-involved shooting in 35 years. The grand jury found the officers justified.[^3] - **[[Isak Aden]], [[Eagan]], July 2, 2019.** The county attorney's office declined to charge on November 13, 2019. This was not a grand jury outcome.[^4] The project's at-issue record summarizes the sequence as "three fatal police shootings across eleven years in one county, three findings of no charges, zero prosecutions."[^2][^3] Two of the three findings were returned by the grand jury. The third was the office's own declination.[^4] ## When - 1990: the office begins presenting every fatal officer-involved shooting to a grand jury.[^1] - July 2008: Rodriguez shooting; grand jury no bill.[^2] - June 22, 2016: Kong shooting; grand jury finds the officers justified.[^3] - November 1, 2016: the county attorney answers the Kong family's civil suit.[^6] - July 2, 2019: Aden shooting. November 13, 2019: county-attorney declination.[^4] - June 4, 2020: Minnesota County Attorneys Association votes to transfer police-involved death cases to the Attorney General.[^7] - September 29, 2023, and February 12, 2025: federal rulings in the Aden civil case (see *How*).[^9] ## Where The grand jury sits for Dakota County. The three shootings occurred at these locations: - a cemetery in Hastings (2008);[^2] - a McDonald's parking lot in Burnsville (2016);[^3] - Eagan (2019).[^4] ## Why The record does not contain the office's stated reason for adopting the 1990 policy.[^1] The 2016 statement gives its own purpose: Backstrom said it was "important for the public to know" that nothing improper had occurred.[^6] In 2020, Backstrom endorsed moving such cases away from county attorneys altogether.[^7] The record shows the policy, its outcomes, and these statements. It does not establish why any individual decision was reached. ## How According to the office's account, each fatal shooting is presented to the grand jury, and the jury receives the evidence without recommendations from the county attorney.[^5][^6] **Kong (2016).** Body-camera audio recorded before the shooting captured "We can bust the window and Tase him if you want," and "If he gets out, I'll go lethal."[^3] **Aden (2019).** The dossier records two points about the video released by authorities: - it carried a large circular blur over Aden at the moment of the shooting; - the blur obscured whether he pointed the weapon.[^8] **Aden civil case.** The dossier records the following federal rulings: - On September 29, 2023, U.S. District Judge [[Jerry W. Blackwell]] denied qualified immunity to every officer who fired, and to three supervisors on the less-lethal force. - He also allowed the Monell claim against Eagan to proceed, and found a genuine dispute over whether "any immediate threat had been extinguished." - On February 12, 2025, the Eighth Circuit reversed on qualified immunity.[^9] **Legal background.** The project's procedural-due-process catalogue pairs grand-jury questions with *In re Murchison*, 349 U.S. 133 (1955). In that case the U.S. Supreme Court held that a judge who served as a one-man grand jury cannot try the case.[^10] ## How much The record carries no dollar figure for Dakota County grand jury proceedings. The dossier records that no settlement was paid in the Aden case after the Eighth Circuit ruling.[^9] ## How many - Fatal police shootings in Dakota County documented in the record, 2008–2019: three. Grand jury outcomes among them: two. Prosecutions: zero.[^2][^3][^4] - Aden shooting: the dossier records that five officers fired twelve rounds in 3.73 seconds, with more than eighty officers on scene.[^9] - Statewide, 2003 to 2013 (Star Tribune count as of that period): the Minnesota BCA investigated 83 officer-involved shootings across 65 departments. They resulted in 44 deaths and 39 injuries. Of the 83, 82 were found justified and one was not.[^11] ## In the at-issue record The project pairs three Dakota County entries with federal presidential actions: - The Kong shooting, including the recorded "I'll go lethal" audio, is paired with *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026).[^12] - The 2016 "nothing improper" statement is paired with *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025). The project's stated basis: a secret proceeding certified as proper by the office that convened it.[^13] - The Rodriguez–Kong–Aden sequence is paired with the March 2026 task-force action again. The project's stated basis: a three-for-three outcome across a decade is a property of the system, not a series of separate cases.[^12] These pairings are the project's own juxtapositions, not findings of any court or agency. ## In the Minnesota record ### What Other Minnesota grand juries appear in the record for comparison. **[[Washington County grand jury]]:** - May 2015: it cleared St. Paul officers in the fatal shooting of Marcus Golden.[^14] - July 19, 2019: it indicted Deputy Brian Krook for second-degree manslaughter in a 2018 fatal shooting.[^15] A trial jury acquitted him in March 2020.[^16] - April 15, 2025: a $4.5 million civil resolution in that death was approved. Of that, $2 million came from the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust and $2.5 million from the county.[^17] **Earlier grand juries:** - A 1934 St. Paul grand jury "found nothing."[^18] - A project file records that a Wright County grand jury adjourned on October 4, 1859 without indicting. The county's court records from that period do not survive. The Minnesota Historical Society finding aid shows [[Wright County District Court]] holdings beginning in 1881.[^19] **Carver County petition.** In Carver County, a 2018 citizen petition asked the [[Carver County Attorney]] and the U.S. Attorney to convene a grand jury into Prince's death. It drew 4,431 verified signatures. Its allegations were adopted by no court, agency or auditor, and no grand jury was convened.[^20][^21] ### When Federal grand juries have been active in Minnesota matters in 2026: - **January 14, 2026.** The [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^22] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds no other U.S. state so described. That is the project's catalogue finding, not an independently established fact. The record here does not carry the case's docket or status. - **January 20, 2026.** CBS News reported that DOJ issued [[federal grand jury]] subpoenas to Attorney General [[Keith Ellison]], Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The subpoenas accused them of obstructing federal law enforcement during the Metro Surge.[^23] - **January 29, 2026.** A federal grand jury indicted Nekima Levy-Armstrong and eight others under 18 U.S.C. §241 and the FACE Act.[^24] The indictment states allegations. The record carries no disposition. ## Notes [^1]: CBS Minnesota, *Burnsville shooting grand jury* — Dakota County Attorney's office policy, since 1990, of presenting every fatal officer-involved shooting to a grand jury. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/burnsville-shooting-grand-jury/ [^2]: Star Tribune, *Over and over, shooting probes exonerate officers* — Hastings Sgt. James Galland's July 2008 fatal shooting of Brandon Rodriguez; grand jury "no bill." https://startribune.com/over-and-over-shooting-probes-exonerate-officers/256790741 [^3]: CBS Minnesota, *Burnsville shooting grand jury* — June 22, 2016 killing of Map Kong by three Burnsville officers; Dakota County grand jury finding of justification; body-camera audio. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/burnsville-shooting-grand-jury/ [^4]: Project dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (Sept. 2, 2026), validated — outcome table: Rodriguez no bill (July 2008), Kong justified (June 22, 2016), Aden county-attorney declination (shooting July 2, 2019; declination Nov. 13, 2019). [^5]: Project dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (Sept. 2, 2026), validated — the office's stated principle; "a fair and unbiased presentation" and no recommendations. [^6]: Patch, *Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom responds to Burnsville police lawsuit* (Nov. 1, 2016) — the county attorney's statement that "nothing improper" occurred in the use of the grand jury and that "no recommendations" were made. https://patch.com/minnesota/burnsville/dakota-county-attorney-james-backstrom-responds-burnsville-police-lawsuit [^7]: Project dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (Sept. 2, 2026), validated — June 4, 2020 Minnesota County Attorneys Association emergency vote; Backstrom's support of the transfer and his past leadership of the association; prospective only. [^8]: Project dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (Sept. 2, 2026), validated — blur on the released Aden video at the moment of the shooting. [^9]: Project dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (Sept. 2, 2026), validated — Sept. 29, 2023 district-court denial of qualified immunity (Judge Jerry W. Blackwell); Feb. 12, 2025 Eighth Circuit reversal; no settlement paid; officer and round counts. [^10]: U.S. Supreme Court, *In re Murchison*, 349 U.S. 133 (1955) — a judge who served as a one-man grand jury cannot try the case. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/349/133/ [^11]: Star Tribune, *Over and over, shooting probes exonerate officers* — statewide BCA investigations, 2003–2013: 83 shootings, 65 departments, 44 deaths, 39 injuries, 82 found justified. https://startribune.com/over-and-over-shooting-probes-exonerate-officers/256790741 [^12]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — presidential action used as the anchor of at-issue entries AI-Dakota-026 and AI-Dakota-028. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^13]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — presidential action used as the anchor of at-issue entry AI-Dakota-027. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^14]: MPR News, *Grand jury clears St. Paul officers in fatal shooting* (May 21, 2015) — Washington County grand jury; Marcus Golden; no charges. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/05/21/grand-jury-clears-st-paul-officers-in-fatal-shooting [^15]: CBS Minnesota, *Minnesota Deputy Indicted In 2018 Fatal Shooting* (July 2019) — Washington County grand jury indicts Deputy Brian Krook, second-degree manslaughter, July 19, 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-deputy-indicted-in-2018-fatal-shooting/ [^16]: MPR News, *Jury finds Washington County deputy not guilty in 2018 shooting death* (Mar. 19, 2020) — acquittal. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/03/19/jury-finds-washington-county-deputy-not-guilty-in-2018-shooting-death [^17]: CBS Minnesota, *Washington County shooting settlement* (2025) — $4.5 million civil resolution approved April 15, 2025 ($2 million Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust, $2.5 million county). https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/benjamin-evans-washington-county-shooting-settlement [^18]: 3:AM Magazine, *St. Paul's gangster era* — the 1934 grand jury that "found nothing." https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/st-pauls-gangster-era/ [^19]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Wright County District Court records, finding aid gr02765* — holdings begin in 1881; the 1859 grand jury adjournment is as recorded in a project file. https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-finding-aids-public/library/findaids/gr02765.html [^20]: Change.org, *Undertake a Grand Jury to Investigate Prince's Death* (started May 19, 2018) — citizen petition, 4,431 verified signatures; allegations adopted by no court, agency or auditor. https://www.change.org/p/mark-metz-county-attorney-carver-county-attorney-s-office-petition-for-grand-jury-to-investigate-prince-s-death [^21]: Star Tribune, *Petition will ask for grand jury investigation into Prince's death* (2018) — coverage of the petition. https://www.startribune.com/petition-will-ask-for-grand-jury-investigation-into-prince-s-death/492140331 [^22]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — title of the release; Attorney General's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^23]: CBS News, *Subpoenas to Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Jacob Frey over immigration obstruction* (Jan. 2026) — DOJ grand jury subpoenas issued January 20, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/subpoena-tim-walz-keith-ellison-jacob-frey-immigration-obstruction/ [^24]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Federal grand jury indicts Cities Church defendants* (Jan. 29, 2026) — indictment of Nekima Levy-Armstrong and eight others under 18 U.S.C. §241 and the FACE Act. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-cities-church-defendants