ST. PAUL — The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man who died during a Feb. 23 use-of-force incident in Brooklyn Center as Eddie Duncan, 23, of Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has identified the officers from the Brooklyn Center Police Department who used force during this incident. The Brooklyn Center Police Department has placed all of the officers on critical incident leave. 

• Officer Christian Lausen fired his department-issued firearm. He has four years of law enforcement experience.
• Officer Francisco Martinez fired his department-issued firearm. He has three years of law enforcement experience.
• Officer Wahid Gul fired his department-issued firearm. He has five years of law enforcement experience. 

According to the BCA’s preliminary investigation, Brooklyn Center officers were called to the 5600 block of Brooklyn Boulevard just before 4 p.m. on Feb. 23 after it was reported that a man was waving a handgun around in the parking lot of area businesses.  

When officers arrived, they located the man, later identified as Eddie Duncan, armed with a handgun. When officers approached Duncan, he fired toward them, striking one of their fully marked police vehicles. Officers exchanged fire with Duncan, striking him. Duncan ran a short distance before falling to the ground. Officers immediately rendered medical aid until an ambulance arrived and transported Duncan to a local hospital where he died of his injuries. No officers were injured.        

BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun and spent casings. Body-worn cameras, along with in-car cameras, were in use and captured portions of this incident. 

The Brooklyn Center Police Department requested the BCA investigate the use of force. Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings without recommendation on charges to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review.