Family of man killed by deputy last year criticizes investigation

The family of a man killed by a Ramsey County Sheriff's deputy last April in Vadnais Heights is criticizing the investigation into his death, saying it's taking too long to get answers.

Darren Robert Jahnke, 47, was shot by a deputy on April 16, 2017. Jahnke was transported to Region's Hospital in St. Paul, where he was declared dead.

Deputies were patrolling near U.S. Highway 61 and Interstate 694 in Vadnais Heights when they saw an RV parked on the side of the road. After trying to talk to Jahnke inside the RV, four deputies entered and struggled with him. Two deputies fired stun guns at Jahnke, which investigators said were ineffective. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Jahnke was shot by Deputy Andre Rongitsch after Jahnke disarmed another deputy.

Jahnke's sister, Jenny Vance, said she's been making phone calls and writing letters to officials to try to find out what happened to her brother but hasn't received good answers.

"We demand that the BCA release its finding immediately," Vance said. "We demand that the deputies who killed my brother are held accountable for his death."

The family has not been able to have a funeral for Jahnke, Vance said. She said the family was initially planning a cremation, but later decided they would get an independent autopsy and requested that his body be released for burial.

"The way our family has treated during the course of the last ten months is unacceptable. There's a grieving process that survivors need to move through, and we've been denied that process," Vance said. "We are frozen in a state of perpetual grief and anger."

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office received permission from the county attorney's office on Tuesday morning to release Jahnke's body to his family for cremation, according to county spokesperson Allison Winters.

"Mr. Jahnke's body was ready for release for burial a few days after his death last year," Winters said in an email response. "Because the family wished to proceed with cremation instead of burial, the Medical Examiner's Office held the body until the Attorney's Office approved the release for cremation."

Preserving a body in a case involving a homicide or police shooting allows the option of further investigation if needed, Winters said.

At this point, Winters said, the family can decide to bury, cremate or conduct an independent autopsy on his body.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation into Jahnke's death was turned over to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office on Jan. 24, according to a spokesperson for the office.

The agency identified the deputies involved in the shooting as Lisa Daly, Doug Haider, Sara Naglosky and Andre Rongitsch. The four officers were put on standard administrative leave after the shooting but have returned to normal duty, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.