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BWC: Man fires flare gun at Minn. deputies before fatal OIS

The man fled in his vehicle after a Clearwater County Sheriff’s deputy confronted him over outstanding warrants; after officers stopped his vehicle, he shot a flare gun at them

Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

BAGLEY, Minn. — A Bagley man who died during a Nov. 13 use-of-force incident in Clearwater County has been identified as 75-year-old Dennis Hoie by the University of North Dakota Forensic Pathology Center.

Following an investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, it has been reported that Clearwater County Deputy Noah Hallman fired his department-issued firearm during the incident.

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Hallman has three years of law enforcement experience and has since been placed on critical incident leave by the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office, the BCA report said.

According to the BCA’s preliminary investigation, just after noon on Nov. 13, a deputy recognized Hoie at a gas station on Central Street West in Bagley and attempted to arrest him on outstanding felony warrants. Hoie resisted, fled in his pickup truck, and was pursued by deputies and a Bagley police officer.

Hoie then drove onto U.S. Highway 2 and later northbound on McDougal Avenue NW, where a Bagley police officer performed a pursuit intervention technique maneuver, causing Hoie’s vehicle to spin out and stop in a residential driveway.

According to the report, law enforcement approached the vehicle on foot, and during an attempt to get Hoie to exit the vehicle, Hallman broke the glass of the passenger side window of the pickup truck as Hoie pulled a flare gun and fired it toward the deputies on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

Hallman fired his handgun through the passenger side window, striking Hoie. Medical aid was rendered to Hoie, but he was pronounced dead on the scene, the report said.

A deputy on the driver’s side of Hoie’s vehicle sustained a graze injury to his head that did not require medical attention.

BCA crime scene personnel recovered one orange-colored flare gun. Hallman’s body camera was on and recording during this incident.

The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office 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 Clearwater County Attorney’s Office for review.

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