Prosecutors: Deputy Was Justified For Shooting Suspect In North Dakota School

Mott, ND – The Hettinger County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a man inside a southwestern North Dakota school in April after the man refused to leave the building and attacked him will not be criminally charged.

Hettinger County Sheriff Sarah Warner announced on May 20 that prosecutors have reviewed the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s (NDBCI) investigation into the April 21 officer-involved shooting and determined the unnamed deputy will not face criminal charges, according to the Associated Press.

“The deputy exercised all de-escalation and lesser-force options before resorting to the firearm discharge,” Sheriff Warner said, according to The Bismarck Tribune.

The incident occurred at Mott-Regent Public School shortly before 3 p.m. on April 21, the Hettinger County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said in a press release one day after the shooting.

A HCSO deputy responded to the school after receiving a report of a disturbance taking place inside the building, and arrived to find 34-year-old Jeffrie Ray Glover refusing to leave the premises, the sheriff’s office said.

Friends of the suspect said Glover had gotten into a fight with his ex-wife’s new boyfriend inside the school after he learned the new boyfriend had been added to his child’s school contact list, the Grand Forks Herald reported.

Glover ignored the deputy’s requests to leave the school and they ultimately got into a physical altercation while the deputy was trying to handcuff him, Sheriff Warner told The Bismarck Tribune.

The deputy deployed his Taser twice during the brawl, but it had no effect, according to the Associated Press.

The sheriff said Glover got on top of the deputy at one point and was able to put him into a chokehold, causing him to briefly lose consciousness, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

The suspect was allegedly going for the deputy’s secured knife when the deputy felt himself losing consciousness for the second time and drew his duty pistol, according to Sheriff Warner.

The deputy fired his gun “in defense of himself, children and staff still present inside the school” and shot Glover one time, she said, according to The Bismarck Tribune.

Glover died as a result of the “lethal force scenario,” the HCSO said in a press release.

Glover’s friends said his youngest son witnessed the fatal shooting.

No staff or students were physically injured during the incident, the HCSO said in a Facebook post.

Sheriff Warner said an internal investigation determined the deputy followed department policy and procedure during the fatal encounter, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

The Hettinger County State’s Attorney’s Office said the deputy’s actions “were justified” and that “no criminal charges can be filed.”

Sheriff Warner declined to release the deputy’s name because he invoked his victim protection rights under Marsy’s Law, The Bismarck Tribune reported.