A sheriff’s deputy was justified when he shot and wounded a man who lunged at officers with knives outside of the Sioux Falls jail last month, South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg said Thursday.
George Rinzy, Jr., 44, was shot May 21 after authorities say he caused a disturbance at the jail and failed to cooperate with deputies and corrections officers. He survived the shooting and was treated at a local hospital.
A summary of the investigation released by Ravnsborg’s office says Rinzy shattered a glass door at the jail and threw a glass liquor bottle toward Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Olson, who was responding. Rinzy then armed himself with two knives - one in each hand - and began running toward officers.
Officers ordered Rinzy to drop the knives but he refused and charged toward Olson with his arms raised and “the knives in his hands in a fighting manner,” the summary states.
Olson fired twice at Rinzy, hitting him once in the abdomen.
“It’s an unfortunate situation when anything like that happens, but we stand behind the decision made by the officer,” Sheriff Mike Milstead said, noting that there were civilians and unarmed officers at the scene.
“We train our officers. We have high expectations of our officers. This was an extremely stressful and volatile situation and the officer’s decisions were found, through the investigation of the attorney general, to be appropriate,” he said.
Rinzy faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault. Toxicology reports show he had methamphetamine, amphetamines and alcohol in his system at the time of the shooting, according to the report from Ravnsborg’s office.
A message left with Rinzy’s attorney was not immediately returned Thursday.
According to the incident summary, cellphone video taken by a witness shows Olson standing in the jail parking lot with his stun gun drawn. In the video, people can be heard yelling, “He’s got a knife.” As Rinzy walks into view, officers retreat and Rinzy is ordered to drop the knife multiple times. Rinzy can be seen raising his arms above his head and running directly at Olson.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable officer present at the scene utilized deadly force in a situation that was tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving,” the report states. “Rinzy Jr. had the means and opportunity to cause serious bodily injury and was a clear and present danger to Deputy Olson at the time.”
The report also adds: “It is the conclusion of this report and the Attorney General that the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Deputy was justified in firing his weapon and using lethal force.”
Olson works as a security deputy at the courthouse. Milstead said he returned to duty shortly after the shooting.
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