Discrepancies found between Polk County Attorney’s Office and sergeant’s account of fatal January shooting

POLK COUNTY, Minn. — Attorneys for Polk County and the shooter have not responded to questions regarding a discrepancy in narratives about a fatal shooting by police in East Grand Forks.

On Friday, Sept. 13, the Polk County Attorney’s Office issued a statement saying it found no wrongdoing by law enforcement in the January incident that led to an East Grand Forks man’s death.

A Herald reader pointed out the discrepancy between the Polk County narrative and the officer’s own report, which is detailed in a civil court filing. The Herald reached out to attorneys in the civil case on Tuesday, Sept. 17, but had not received comment by 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The incident occurred at a Rhinehart Township residence on Jan. 9 after law enforcement received reports that Lucas Paul Gilbertson was there.

Wanted for alleged supervised release violations, 42-year-old Gilbertson had been evading law enforcement for months, according to a Thursday, Sept. 12, letter Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension after reviewing its report of the fatal shooting.

Gilbertson allegedly failed to surrender, attempted to flee, and ultimately was shot four times. He was pronounced dead in an Altru operating room.

His shooter, East Grand Forks Police Sgt. Aeisso Schrage, was sued the following month by Gilbertson’s father, Rodney Paul Romuld, who argues unreasonable force was used, among other complaints.

Most of what occurred in the moments leading up to the shooting was publicly unknown — because Schrage had been undercover and was not wearing a body camera — until documents were filed in the civil case.

In Schrage’s answer to the civil complaint, filed March 7, he states that upon entering the residence in pursuit of Gilbertson, the man pointed a gun at him.

Schrage deployed his Taser but missed, so he switched to his handgun "as Gilbertson ducked toward a window he had shattered moments earlier."

The window had been shattered when Gilbertson threw a gun out of it, according to previously released documentation.

Schrage "feared that Gilbertson was planning to shoot and kill (Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force) agents who were just outside the shattered window, or that he was planning to re-engage and shoot and kill him, so he discharged his firearm, striking Gilbertson."

Most of this narrative corresponds with the events detailed in Widseth’s letter, but there are differences. After the Taser missed, Widseth wrote that Gilbertson "fled into a bedroom and out of Sgt. Schrage’s sight."

"Unknown to Sgt. Schrage, upon retreating into the bedroom, Lucas Gilbertson had thrown the handgun out of a bedroom window. Sgt. Schrage reported that Lucas Gilbertson then rushed out towards him, and he shot Lucas Gilbertson."

The discrepancy: Did Gilbertson duck toward the shattered window, or charge directly at Schrage?

Seeking clarification, the Herald reached out to Schrage’s attorneys and Widseth on Tuesday morning, Sept. 17, but did not receive comment by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The Herald requested a transcript of the BCA’s interview with Schrage, but how long that will take to be released is unclear.