The Washington County Board on Tuesday approved a $4.5 million settlement in the case involving a sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a suicidal man in 2018 during a standoff in Lake Elmo.

According to the terms of the settlement, William Evans, acting as trustee and next-of-kin for Benjamin Evans, will receive the payment. Of the $4.5 million, $2 million will come from the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust while the remaining $2.5 million comes from Washington County.

Benjamin Evans, 23, of Lake Elmo, was killed by Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Krook after a standoff that occurred on April 21, 2018. Evans held a handgun to his head for about 45 minutes at an intersection in Lake Elmo around midnight, officials said.

At one point, Evans turned his head and pointed the handgun at himself, causing the weapon also to be pointed in the direction of law enforcement officers, according to Washington County.

In a statement on the settlement, Washington County officials said: “While (they stand) by the actions of (their) deputy as necessary to protect public safety, both parties recognized that a prolonged and costly trial could yield uncertain outcomes.”

Washington County’s statement also noted that the settlement “does not constitute admission of liability or wrongdoing by Washington County or Deputy Krook.”

The attorney representing Evans’ family, Elham Haddon of Sandberg Law Firm in Rochester, Minn., said Tuesday that the case was slated to go to trial in mid-February, but both sides agreed that settling was the best option.

“All I can say is the family is relieved to put this behind them and to move on with their lives,” Haddon said. “It was a very, very tough fight, and I think everybody is happy with the result that we got.”

Most of the money from the settlement will go to Lydia Rose Evans, Benjamin Evans’ 8-year-old daughter, who lives in St. Louis with her mother, William Evans said. The rest will be divided between Benjamin Evans’ parents, who are divorced, and two of his siblings, Evans said.

“In some ways, you would like the vindication of having a win in court, but, by the same token, we wanted to make sure that Lydia was taken care of,” he said. “The biggest part of the whole settlement is, you know, to take care of her.”

Constant travel to Minnesota for court hearings also was taking its toll, said Evans, who lives in St. Louis. “It’s nice to be at the end of it because we’re not having to travel and come up again and again and again,” he said. “Every time you come up, you’re reliving the loss. It’s bad enough just thinking of it daily and missing him.”

Public servant

William Evans and Kim Porter, Evans’ mother, said their son was a dedicated public servant — a firefighter and an EMT who had moved to Lake Elmo just a few months before he was killed to take a job as a paid, on-call firefighter with the Lake Elmo Fire Department.

“He was a Certified Firefighter 1 and 2, a Firefighter Instructor 1 and a Fire Officer 1,” said Evans, who spent 36 years as a paramedic and a firefighter. “He was well on his way to a great fire career.”

After studying fire and paramedic science at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., for three years, Benjamin Evans was making plans to continue his paramedic schooling in Minnesota, Bill Evans said.

“His passion in life was to serve,” he said. “That’s how he signed his emails.”

His son, he said, should not have been killed that night.

“Before (Krook) started shooting, Ben said, ‘Can I have a phone and call my father?’” Evans said. “If he would have called me, I would have said, ‘Ben, tell them right now that you’re going to put the firearm down very gently. Put it down on the ground, and step back away from it. I will come to Minnesota, and we’ll work this all out. Don’t worry about it.’ And he would have. There’s no doubt in my mind that that young man would have listened. Without a doubt, he would have done it. That’s just who he was. But he didn’t get that chance.”

Krook, a 15-year veteran of the department, was acquitted of manslaughter in 2020 by a Washington County jury.

In December 2020, Evans’ family sued Krook, Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Michelle Folendorf, Deputy Joshua Ramirez and Deputy Michael Ramos. The other defendants in the case were dismissed either by the court or voluntarily by the plaintiff after Krook filed a motion for summary judgment.

In 2023, U.S. District Judge Michael Davis denied Krook’s motion for summary judgment. A month later, Washington County officials appealed a portion of Davis’ order.

Krook has been employed by Washington County since March 15, 2010. He is currently assigned as a patrol deputy and is a canine handler. He also serves as a SWAT officer, county officials said Tuesday.