ST. PAUL, Minn. – Prosecutors have cleared two Roseville police officers of any criminal wrongdoing in a fatal shooting last year.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Wednesday that he won’t charge Officers Boua Chang and Bryan Anderson in Jesse Henri Werling’s death in April 2022.
Werling, 53, had fired an estimated 200 rounds from a rifle at occupied homes, vehicles and police during an hour-long standoff in a residential neighborhood. A third Roseville officer, Ryan Duxbury, was shot in the face. Ongoing gunfire prevented medics from reaching Duxbury. Other officers had to help him to an ambulance. He ultimately survived.
Both Chang and Anderson opened fire on Werling with department-issued AR-15 rifles. One of Chang’s rounds hit Werling in the thigh, killing him, according to a report by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators.
The investigators concluded that Werling had alcohol in his system and Chang and Anderson’s use of deadly force was justified. Choi said he agreed with that finding.
Werling’s mother declined to comment on Choi’s decision.
A 2019 court filing said Werling was suffering from paranoia and delusions. He was arrested in 2015 for domestic disorderly conduct against his ex-wife, who accused him of calling her in the middle of the night and yelling about their divorce.
A woman who lived near Werling’s father called 911 in 2020 to report that Werling had repeatedly kicked the door to her home. The woman won a restraining order from a judge.
