Release Process

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is prohibited by Minnesota law from releasing investigative case files while an investigation is open and active. The investigation can be closed when all court proceedings have finished or if the prosecutor decides not to file charges. At that time, case files for use-of-deadly-force investigations go through a redaction process to ensure that the file contains only information that is public under Minnesota law. The files are then posted on this website. 

The BCA provides information from the case file to the people involved in the incident – or, if they are deceased, to their family – before releasing it to the public.

Each case file contains documents, photos, audio files and video files. The BCA posts files in each section as they clear the redaction process, rather than waiting until the entire file is redacted. This allows people to see information about these cases more quickly because the redaction process is often lengthy and resource-intensive.

Please use caution as you access these files. The contents might be disturbing to some.