SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota law enforcement officers were involved in a shooting more than once a month in 2022, according to data from the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.
Various law enforcement agencies were involved in a total of 13 shootings that were investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigations.
All 13 shootings were deemed justified by the acting South Dakota Attorney General. Seven, more than half of the total shootings, ended up being deadly.
The 13 officer-involved shootings in 2022 were the highest yearly total in state history. Since 2013, there have been 51 shootings by law enforcement in South Dakota, including the first officer-involved shooting in 2023, which happened on Jan. 19 in Rapid City.
You can view a breakdown of the shootings per year in the graph below.
The Sioux Falls Police Department was involved in seven of the 13 shootings in 2022, while the Rapid City Police Department was involved in four shootings.
Mike Hockett, a special agent and supervisor for the DCI, spoke with KELOLAND News in December 2022 about the role DCI plays in investigating officer-involved shootings.
“We will go step-by-step and initially deal with the scene and the people and the critical aspects of those first,” Hockett told KELOLAND News.
Hockett said collecting and reviewing surveillance video or body cam video is one of the most time-consuming parts of the investigation.
“Sometimes there’s so much video when you’re talking surveillance cameras, audio, video any sort of body cameras that might be available, it takes time to review that stuff,” Hockett said. “We have to be extremely thorough and paint a 360-degree picture of this thing to provide to the Attorney General’s Office to make a determination.”
Last week, Attorney General Marty Jackley told KELOLAND News many of the law enforcement shootings involve a component of drug use. That belief is shared by Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead who also said the majority of the gun violence is fueled by drugs.
“There was a day when some of the drugs dealers carried firearms. Well, it’s changed completely now. Drug dealers are carrying firearms and drug users, many of the users of these drugs are willing to arm themselves,” Milstead said in September 2022.
Jackley believes targeting drugs is one way to curb the number of shootings, but he’s also looking at other solutions.
On Friday, the AG’s office released its most-recent investigation from a shooting in Sioux Falls in December 2022.
The officer, described as officer no. 1, was justified when they shot five times in rapid succession into the open driver’s door of a car. The driver of the car resisted arrested which included backing the vehicle toward officers, according to DCI documents.
“This incident occurred in a tense, fast-changing environment where the public was present,” Jackley said in a news release. “The officer involved, based on the actions of the defendant and the circumstances of the situation, was justified in believing the lives of others in the area were in danger.”