Use of deadly force justified in June shooting
With guns drawn, SWAT members approach the suspect shown in the upper right-hand side of this photo holding a handgun. He was shot to death by officers seconds later. Prosecutors have determined the June shooting was justified. Photo courtesy of Steele County Sheriff's Office.
No charges are warranted in the death of a rural Albert Lea man who was killed in a hail of gunfire in June.
A review by the Fillmore County Attorney’s Office determined the use of force by law enforcement, including a Steele County Sheriff’s deputy, was justified.
The findings have been sent to the investigating agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The series of events that led to the shooting began about 7:10 p.m. June 11 with a report of a domestic dispute in the 21000 block of 880th Avenue in Oakland Township. The caller said that Nathaniel Dewitt Bailey, 44, of Albert Lea, had sent a text message to a woman, claiming he had killed his mother.
After a lengthy and often high-speed pursuit involving several law enforcement agencies, Bailey returned to the scene of the original dispute.
Bailey parked his vehicle and got out; according to video of the incident, Bailey had a handgun, which he raised with both hands in a “squared up” position.
In his report, Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson wrote that Bailey “failed to heed orders to drop his gun and surrender to law enforcement and aimed his weapon” at members of the SWAT team.
Corson reviewed 375 pages of evidence gathered during the BCA investigation, including body camera recordings; squad videos; audio statements and transcripts; pictures from the scene; autopsy and ballistics reports; 911 calls; Snapchat and text messages; and more.
Each of the officers were aware that Bailey had reportedly killed his mother that evening and had reportedly pointed a gun at his mother’s head the day before, Corson wrote.
They also knew Bailey was carrying a weapon, had rammed a squad car, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase.
Additionally, Corson found, “all of the officers commanded Bailey or heard other peace officers command Baily to drop his gun, raise his hands, or stop.”
It did not appear that Bailey was able to fire his weapon before he was killed, the report says, but “this does not change the determination that deadly force was reasonable … It was reasonable for the peace officers to believe their lives were in imminent danger and that it was necessary to utilize deadly force.”
The officers, Corson wrote, “made great effort to avoid the use of deadly force,” calling it “reasonable, unavoidable and necessary to prevent the death of themselves and/or others.”
Sean Robbins was one of five officers who discharged a firearm during the incident; he has 11 years of law enforcement experience and responded as part of the Steele County SWAT team.
In addition to Robbins, the other officers are Mower County Sheriff’s Sergeant Katlynne Fisher, who has eight years of law enforcement experience; Freeborn County Deputy Darik Weigel, eight years of experience; Albert Lea Police Detective Sy Vanthavong, 24 years of experience; and a Faribault County Sheriff’s Office deputy whose name was withheld due to undercover status.
When law enforcement searched the property after the shooting, they found the body of Bailey’s mother, Brenda Kay Krause, 66.
Her death, which has been ruled a homicide, was the result of gunshot wounds.
BCA crime scene technicians recovered a handgun and spent cartridge casings at the scene.