Thurman Blevins

Thurman Blevins, 31, was shot and killed by Minneapolis Police Officers Justin Schmidt and Ryan Kelly on June 23, 2018, at the end of a roughly 40-second foot chase in a north Minneapolis alley. A 911 caller had reported a man matching Blevins's description firing a handgun into the air and the ground; officers spotted him with a gun in his waistband, and he ran when they approached. Officers said Blevins pulled the gun from his pocket and turned toward them during the chase, prompting them to fire 14 shots, four of which struck him. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced in July 2018, after a five-week investigation, that the shooting was legally authorized and declined to bring charges against either officer. Body camera video of the shooting was released to the public only the night before that announcement. No one has ever been charged in Blevins's death.

Minneapolis, MN · Hennepin County

• 2018: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The 911 report, the foot chase, and the shooting, per Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's public charging decision and body camera footage released the night before that announcement.
• Officers fired a total of 14 shots, four of which struck Blevins.
• Freeman's office stated that witness testimony, body camera video, and forensic testing showed Blevins had a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in his hand and had refused multiple commands to drop it during the chase.
• Freeman concluded the officers' use of deadly force was authorized under Minnesota law because Blevins represented a danger to their lives, and announced no charges would be filed against Officers Schmidt or Kelly.
• Freeman's news conference was interrupted by Blevins's family and community members, who disputed that Blevins posed a threat to anyone in the community.
• Both officers remained on paid administrative leave during the department's internal investigation following the county attorney's decision.

• Whether Blevins's motion turning toward the officers while holding the gun, as described in the county attorney's account, constituted him aiming or threatening them specifically, versus another interpretation of the same body camera footage, was disputed by family members and community activists but never tested at any criminal trial.
• The specific reasoning behind the timing of the body camera footage's release — the night before the charging announcement, rather than promptly after the shooting — has not been fully explained by the department.
• The outcome of the Minneapolis Police Department's own internal review of the officers' conduct, separate from the county attorney's criminal charging decision, has not been made comprehensively public.

• Star Tribune — “No charges against Minneapolis officers who fatally shot Blevins”
• MPR News — “Freeman: No charges against Minneapolis cops in Blevins shooting”
• PBS NewsHour — “The Minneapolis officers who fatally shot Thurman Blevins won't be charged. Here's what we know”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs