After reviewing video recovered from Winston Smith’s phone, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office agreed with earlier findings by a third party that deadly force was justified when officers shot and killed Smith in the summer of 2021 in Minneapolis.

“While our review of the video does not change the conclusion that the use of force was lawful, this was a tragic outcome,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “We appreciate our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement partners toward ensuring the safety of officers and the public.”

On June 3, 2021, Winston “Boogie” Smith Jr., of St. Paul, was sitting in a parked vehicle in the former Calhoun Square parking ramp at Lake Street and Girard Avenue. When a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy and a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy working for the U.S. Marshals Service tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, authorities said, he “didn’t comply with law enforcement and produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject.”

After reviewing the new video, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office revealed further details about that day and confirmed that Smith fired at officers first.

“Officers approached the vehicle yelling orders for Mr. Smith to surrender and attempting to break the window of the vehicle. It was at that time that Mr. Smith brandished a handgun and fired at officers, who returned fire striking and killing Mr. Smith.”

Originally the case went to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review, which referred the case to the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office. After Crow Wing found the use of force was justified, evidence from the case was returned to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

During its 2021 investigation, investigators learned that Smith made a video during the incident. In early December, after a software program spent more than a year trying 780,000 potential passwords, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced it was able to unlock the cellphone and view the video.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office reviewed the video and agreed with Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan’s finding.

On Friday, some in law enforcement released statements criticizing Moriarty’s announcement of her decision.

Moriarty’s press release said that while the video shows the use of force was legal, it raised the question of whether there were other options available to officers to take Smith into custody.

“The view provided by the video warrants a conversation about opportunities for policy change, training, and use of de-escalation techniques that could be employed in the hope of avoiding the outcome observed here, namely a person in distress resorting to violence,” Moriarty wrote.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher disagreed.

“Winston Smith was on the run and armed. He failed to comply with officers’ commands and refused to open the car door — even ignoring his passenger’s pleas,” Bob Fletcher wrote in a statement. “Winston Smith chose another tactic. He produced a handgun and shot at officers and deputies, who were lucky to survive the encounter.”

Fletcher said that Moriarty’s comments “demonstrate her lack of understanding of the real dangers that peace officers face every day.”

Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association executive director Brian Peters said: “The Hennepin County Attorney shamefully speculates her own facts in this incident, once again showing her radical, anti-law enforcement bias.”

Any “additional speculation” about what happened and “alternative actions” the officers could have taken is “unnecessary and unhelpful,” the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page.

The day Smith was shot, deputies were trying to arrest the Black man on a May 19, 2021, warrant that was issued after he didn’t attend sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a person ineligible due to a previous crime of violence.

His death came a year after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd set off protests and unrest that rocked the city.