Heaven Heinzer-Clark, a 15-year-old student on the Iron Range, traveled more than 70 miles south to stand in the morning rain and protest outside of the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth.
She had a lot on her mind. She has been watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis cop charged in the death of George Floyd. And she just learned that police officers in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright on Sunday.
She considered the publicity surrounding the deaths of these two men and thought about the general lack of media coverage or interest concerning the death of Estavon Elioff, a 19-year-old Hispanic man from the Range city of Virginia, who was shot and killed by two white St. Louis County Sheriffâs deputies in Mountain Iron on Dec. 5, 2020.
HIBBING â The Hibbing City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved purchasing 25 body cameras for officers to equip its police department.
Police Chief Steve Estey told the Mesabi Tribune that those numbers ensure all uniformed police officers and investigators will have a camera. The chief placed the $68,000 order including installation from the Aurora-based Rogerâs Online Corporation on Thursday.
By buying the body cameras, Hibbingâs police department â the largest on the Iron Range â becomes the latest agency to adopt the technology. Virginia Police Chief Nicole Mattson has told the Mesabi Tribune via email that her officers have had body cameras âfor two years and they are integrated with our in-car cameras.â Estey, an ex-Virginia detective, wrote in an email that his former department uses the Watchguard system and his officers will do the same.
St. Louis County Attorney: Use of Deadly Force Justified in Mt. Iron Officer-Involved Shooting
February 8, 2021
MT. IRON, Minn. – The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office has ruled that the use of deadly force was justified in a December officer-involved shooting in Mt. Iron.
The ruling is in connection to a December 5, 2020 incident, when Deputy Ryan Smith and Deputy Matt Tomsich were involved in a shooting that killed 19-year-old Estavon Dominick Elioff.
According to the report, a two-tier outside review was conducted.
The first in-depth review was performed by Vemon D. Swanum, a retired prosecutor.
The second tier review consisted of Washington County Attorney Peter Orput.
The stateâs top law enforcement agency has completed its investigation into the fatal shooting of Estavon Dominick Elioff in December in Mountain Iron by two sheriffâs deputies and started handing over findings to the St. Louis County Attorneyâs Office for review.
The turning over of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensionâs findings was confirmed Wednesday morning. The investigation remains open during the review and the details are not made public per state law, said BCA spokeswoman Jill Oliveira.
Elioff, 19, a Hispanic and white man from Virginia, was fatally shot while allegedly fleeing from sheriffâs deputies Ryan Smith and Matt Tomsich, who are white, in the Mountain Iron woods last month.