# Jacob Peterson *Officer named in the 2019 Dakota County declination in the shooting death of Isak Aden* Jacob Peterson is one of five officers whom the [[Dakota County Attorney]] declined to charge on November 13, 2019. The charging decision concerned the shooting death of [[Isak Aden]] in [[Eagan]], [[Minnesota]], on July 2, 2019.[^1][^2] FOX 9 names Peterson as of Eagan and the other four officers, Mathew Ryan, Anthony Kiehl, Adam Stier and Daniel Nelson, as of Bloomington. The county attorney found the shooting "legally justified."[^1] On September 29, 2023, federal judge [[Jerry W. Blackwell]] reviewed the Aden record. He denied qualified immunity to every officer who fired and found a genuine dispute over whether "any immediate threat had been extinguished."[^3] On February 12, 2025, the Eighth Circuit reversed on qualified immunity. The dossier records that no settlement was paid.[^4] The record sets the county's stated practice beside its outputs. The dossier records a stated principle that officers "need to be held accountable like everyone else." It also records that every fatal officer-involved shooting in Dakota County since 1990 goes to a grand jury. Its Dakota County case table lists two grand jury outcomes, a no bill in 2008 and a "justified" finding in 2016. The Aden case is listed as a county attorney declination.[^2] ## Who - **Jacob Peterson.** FOX 9 lists him as of Eagan among the five officers covered by the November 13, 2019 declination.[^1] The record in this pack does not state his rank or assignment. It also does not state individually whether he was among the officers who fired.[^1][^3] - **Other officers named in the declination.** Mathew Ryan, Anthony Kiehl, Adam Stier and Daniel Nelson, all listed as of Bloomington.[^1] - **Isak Aden.** He was shot in Eagan on July 2, 2019. FOX 9's report of the declination describes him as a 23-year-old man.[^1][^2] - **Jerry W. Blackwell.** He is the federal judge who issued the September 29, 2023 qualified-immunity ruling on the Aden record.[^3] ## What - **The county decision.** The Dakota County Attorney declined to charge all five officers. The office found the shooting legally justified.[^1] - **The 2023 federal ruling.** The court denied qualified immunity to every officer who fired. It also denied immunity to three supervisors on the use of less-lethal force.[^3] - **The Monell claim.** The court allowed the claim against Eagan to proceed because the chief had authorized the tactical plan.[^3] - **The record before the court, as the dossier summarizes it.** Aden had negotiated for more than four hours. More than eighty officers were present under sniper coverage. Aden was hit by flashbangs and foam rounds before five officers fired.[^3] - **The appeal.** The Eighth Circuit reversed the qualified-immunity ruling on February 12, 2025.[^4] ## When - **July 2, 2019:** Aden is shot in Eagan.[^2] - **November 13, 2019:** the Dakota County Attorney announces the declination.[^1][^2] - **September 29, 2023:** Judge Blackwell denies qualified immunity to the officers who fired.[^3] - **February 12, 2025:** the Eighth Circuit reverses on qualified immunity.[^4] ## Where - **The shooting:** Eagan, in Dakota County. The charging review was conducted by the Dakota County Attorney.[^1][^2] - **The four other officers:** listed as of Bloomington.[^1] ## How many - **Officers declined:** five.[^1] - **Rounds fired:** five officers fired twelve rounds in 3.73 seconds, as summarized from the 2023 ruling.[^3] - **Officers present:** more than eighty.[^3] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue pair AI-Dakota-022 sets two documents side by side, both covering the same facts: - the county's 2019 declination; and - the 2023 federal immunity denial.[^1][^3] The pair does not include the Eighth Circuit's 2025 reversal, which the dossier records.[^4] The dossier places the Aden declination beside a statewide baseline. The Minnesota BCA investigated 83 officer-involved shootings across 65 departments between 2003 and 2013. Those shootings caused 44 deaths and 39 injuries, and 82 were found justified.[^6] On June 4, 2020, the [[Minnesota County Attorneys Association]] held an emergency meeting ten days after the death of George Floyd. At that meeting it voted to transfer every police-involved death case to the state Attorney General.[^5] [[Backstrom]], who had twice led the association, supported the transfer. He said it would "improve public trust and bring consistency."[^5] The dossier records that the change was prospective and that no prior case was reopened.[^5] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Jacob Peterson (Eagan) was named in the Dakota County Attorney's November 13, 2019 declination. Mathew Ryan, Anthony Kiehl, Adam Stier and Daniel Nelson (Bloomington) were named in the same declination.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: FOX 9, *No charges for officers in deadly Eagan Minnesota shooting of 23-year-old man* (Nov. 13, 2019) — Dakota County Attorney's declination; names Jacob Peterson (Eagan) and Mathew Ryan, Anthony Kiehl, Adam Stier, Daniel Nelson (Bloomington); finding of legal justification. https://www.fox9.com/news/no-charges-for-officers-in-deadly-eagan-minnesota-shooting-of-23-year-old-man [^2]: *Backstrom Apex Dossier*, §III (Sept. 2, 2026), validated dossier section; pack row AI-Dakota-022 — stated grand-jury principle; Dakota County case table (Rodriguez 2008, Kong 2016, Aden July 2, 2019, declination Nov. 13, 2019). No allowed URL. [^3]: *Backstrom Apex Dossier*, §III (Sept. 2, 2026), summarizing the order of Judge Jerry W. Blackwell (D. Minn., Sept. 29, 2023) — qualified immunity denied to every officer who fired and to three supervisors; Monell claim allowed; "any immediate threat had been extinguished"; twelve rounds in 3.73 seconds. The dossier's Justia URL is not in this pack's allowed URLs. [^4]: *Backstrom Apex Dossier*, §III (Sept. 2, 2026) — Eighth Circuit reversal on qualified immunity, Feb. 12, 2025; no settlement paid. The dossier's Justia URL is not in this pack's allowed URLs. [^5]: *Backstrom Apex Dossier*, §III (Sept. 2, 2026) — Minnesota County Attorneys Association vote of June 4, 2020; Backstrom's statement; prospective application. The dossier's CBS and Star Tribune URLs are not in this pack's allowed URLs. [^6]: *Backstrom Apex Dossier*, §III (Sept. 2, 2026) — BCA statewide baseline, 2003–2013: 83 shootings, 65 departments, 82 found justified. The dossier's Star Tribune URL is not in this pack's allowed URLs.