Watch: Attorney General rules fatal Fargo police shooting justified

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FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley won’t charge Fargo Police Officer Adam O’Brien for using deadly force.

On July 8 he shot Shane Netterville who later died.

“Fargo Police conducted themselves professionally, bravely and within the law,” Wrigley said.

Wrigley commended three officers for using restraint, including Officer Adam O’Brien who pulled the trigger.

O’Brien has been with Fargo Police for eight years and was a military policeman for the North Dakota National Guard for eight years.

Wrigley says three men were found in a stolen vehicle on the 3400 block of 15th Avenue South with a bullet hole in the windshield. The driver, Shane Netterville, was told multiple times to put his hands up. Body camera shows he put his hands up and down multiple times and started the vehicle twice. That’s when Officer O’Brien took action.

The van drove across the street and crashed.

Passengers Cody Dunn and Derek Stanley ran. Dunn was arrested for fleeing and possession of a controlled substance. Stanley was found four days later in North Fargo and turned over to the BCI.

Officer O’Brien put pressure on Netterville’s wound until an ambulance arrived.

Wrigley and Police Chief David Zibolski were asked if O’Brien could have walked away instead of using deadly force.

“They’re sworn to do exactly the opposite. To engage on behalf of the public to protect the safety and sanctity of our communities,” Wrigley said.

“Officer O’Brien wasn’t really in a position to walk away. He was about to be run over and he objectively, reasonably believed that,” Zibolski said.

Some question if Netterville being Native American had something to do with him being shot.

“There is zero evidence that this incident was driven by anything other than the circumstances encountered by those officers,” Wrigley said.

Wrigley and Zibolski met with Officer O’Brien and the Netterville family to tell them about his decision. The Attorney General thanked Zibolski for scheduling the meeting.

“This is difficult to see, see the video. I went through and explained a bit about what they were going to see to try and assist in them to be prepared to any extent that anybody could be prepared to see that,” Wrigley explained.

Zibolski says O’Brien could be back on duty next Wednesday.

Next Thursday, the chief will tell the Police Advisory and Oversight Board more about illegal activity Dunn and Stanley have allegedly been involved in and give Netterville’s toxicology results.