MANDAN, N.D. (AP) - Mandan police aren’t releasing the name of a man injured in an officer-involved shooting because they’re unsure whether he will try to invoke crime-victim rights under the North Dakota Constitution.
Mandan Police Deputy Chief Lori Flaten told the Bismarck Tribune that an officer shot the man shortly after police were trying to arrest him on warrants on Oct. 9. Flaten said the man was hospitalized.
Flaten said she didn’t know the man’s medical condition or details about the shooting, including whether the man was armed or if he would be charged in connection to the incident.
The police department doesn’t want to overstep Marsy’s Law, a voter-approved initiative that inserted crime-victim rights into the state Constitution. Among other things, the law expanded the privacy rights of crime victims and their families.
The officer involved in the Oct. 9 shooting has already invoked Marsy’s Law rights. The officer is on administrative leave while the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigates the shooting.
Flaten said the police department may seek legal counsel to decide whether to eventually release the officer’s name.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has issued guidance stating that nothing shields the names of crime victims who invoke Marsy’s Law. But he said other state laws protect the names of victims of domestic violence, sexual offenses and human trafficking.
“Unless the victim falls into one of those categories, the victim’s name cannot be withheld,” Stenehjem’s guidance states.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com
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