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Crime, Law and Justice
Tim Nelson
Austin, Minn.

No charges for Austin police officer in fatal December shooting

A group of protesters hold a rally.
Dorothy Gales, fiance of 38-year-old Kokou Christopher Fiafonou, who was killed on Dec. 23 by Austin police officer Zachary Gast, leads a chant on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, outside the Kwik Trip where Fiafonou was killed in Austin, Minn.
Courtesy of Joe Ahlquist | The Rochester Post Bulletin

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The Olmsted County Attorney's Office has declined to press charges against Austin Police Officer Zachary Gast for the shooting death of Kokou Fiafonou after reviewing the case on behalf of Mower County prosecutors.

In a letter explaining the decision, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said that Gast expressed a reasonable fear for his own life when he shot Fiafonou. 

"Based on the information available to Officer Gast at the time he fired his weapon at Mr. Fiafonou, a reasonable officer in Officer Gast's position would have concluded that deadly force was necessary to protect the officer or other persons from apparent death or great bodily harm," wrote Ostrem in the letter to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension dated April 11, 2022.

The incident started Dec. 22, when police say they encountered Fiafonou walking along a downtown street allegedly yelling threats. An officer reported offering to take Fiafonou to a hospital, but police say he declined and went into a nearby residence, and then came out carrying knives and a hammer.

Austin police initially sent a large force of officers to attempt to take Fiafonou into custody. But they later withdrew, with two officers remaining to observe Fiafonou. Police say the following day Fiafonou walked into a nearby convenience store carrying a large knife, then charged at a police officer. 

Gast opened fire, shooting Fiafonou seven times. 

Ostrem said he reviewed video of the incident that was captured on a store camera and a squad car video. The Austin Police Department does not use body cameras.

Dozens of people held a rally in Austin a week after the shooting to protest Fiafonou's death and demand compensation for his family. Some family members who attended disputed the official account of the incident.  

David Kodzode, who is Fiafonou’s cousin, said Fiafonou was a good man who prayed every morning and preached the gospel. He told MPR News he was seeking justice because he thought police had "killed an innocent man."

The Olmsted County Attorney's Office was asked to review the case by the Mower County Attorney's Office.