​ST. PAUL — The officer in yesterday’s officer involved shooting incident in Plymouth has been identified as Amy Therkelsen, a seven-year veteran of the Plymouth Police Department. A second officer, Christopher Hendrickson, witnessed the shooting. Officer Hendrickson has been with the Plymouth Police Department for eight years.
The Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (DPS-BCA) is investigating the incident.

According to the preliminary investigation, Officer Therkelsen responded to a 9-1-1 call of a disturbance at the Arby’s location at 10205 6th Avenue North in Plymouth on July 23 around 8:20 p.m. Therkelsen received information while en route that the subject had a weapon and was inside of the restaurant. According to the preliminary investigation, when Officer Therkelsen arrived, two individuals were attempting to subdue the subject. When the subject did not immediately follow Officer Therkelsen’s commands, she deployed her Taser, but it proved ineffective. Officer Therkelsen then attempted to subdue the subject physically, and a fight ensued during which the subject attempted to remove Therkelsen’s weapon from its holster. Officer Therkelsen gained control of her weapon and fired at the subject, fatally striking him. No other weapons were recovered from the scene. Officer Hendrickson arrived just before the shooting occurred. He and others witnessed the shooting.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy and will make formal identification of the subject.

Officer Therkelsen sustained minor injuries in the fight that did not require treatment. No one else in the restaurant was injured during the incident.

DPS-BCA agents and crime scene personnel are conducting the investigation with assistance from the Plymouth Police Department and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. Both officers are on standard administrative leave.

Once the investigation is complete, DPS-BCA will turn its findings over to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review.