Dodge sheriff’s deputy on leave after alleged assault near BP

A deputy with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office has been placed on leave after being charged with domestic assault and threats of violence.

Shawn Neil Dolsen, 35, was arrested early Jan. 20 after an incident at a home in rural Blooming Prairie. He faces one count each of felony threats of violence and misdemeanor domestic assault.

Dolsen made his first appearance Jan. 22 in Steele County District Court; he was conditionally released from custody without bail and is due back in court Feb. 5.

The investigation began after Steele County deputies responded to the residence; while en route, they learned a weapon and alcohol were both involved, and a child was in the home.

As they arrived, Dolsen came out of the house.

A woman inside told deputies she had checked on Dolsen, who was sick in a bathroom; he told her to leave him alone.

According to the criminal complaint, she then heard Dolsen “crawling to the safe,” removing a firearm and returning to the bathroom.

The woman said at one point Dolsen “cornered” her in the bedroom, took her phone and threw it across the room. She was able to record several videos of their interactions, including as he pointed the gun at his own head.

Court documents say that several times, Dolsen racked the gun and “counted down … as if when he got to zero he would pull the trigger.”

When the woman said she was calling law enforcement, Dolsen allegedly said the likelihood of him fighting back when they arrived was high; he said suicide by cop sounded fun, the document continues.

As the woman continued to plead with Dolsen to put the gun away, he told her if she called Steele County deputies or any of his friends, “I’m going to shoot at them until I die,” the complaint says.

At one point, the woman can be heard saying, “stop kicking me,” as Dolsen pushes her out of the bathroom.

The woman was eventually able to get the ammunition and magazine away from Dolsen, and hid it in the couch cushions.

Dolsen then pushed her into a closet, and allegedly asked her if she wanted to watch him shoot himself.