911 transcript, officer personnel files offer insight into police killing of Andrew "Tekle" Sundberg
MINNEAPOLIS -- Newly released documents offer more background on the police killing of a man in a south Minneapolis apartment after an hourslong standoff last week.
Two police snipers shot and killed Andrew "Tekle" Sundberg Thursday morning after he allegedly fired into a neighbor's apartment. Police said they negotiated with him for hours before killing him, but have not said what made the snipers decide to shoot.
On Monday, transcripts from the 911 call that brought police to the apartment building in the Seward neighborhood were released, along with personnel files for the two officers who shot Sundberg, Zach Seraphine and Aaron Pearson.
The transcript shows a neighbor called 911 to report someone shooting into her apartment.
"There's a bullet hole through my apartment," the neighbor, who is not identified in the transcript but has since been identified as Arabella Yarbrough, said.
During the call, Yarbrough told 911 that Sundberg "does not like me" and accuses him of stalking her.
"I don't know if he's been upset lately and just wanted to shoot through. I don't know if he shot his self," she said, according to the transcript. "I don't know what's going on but I literally heard two bullets, like two shots go off."
She also tells the operator, "I don't know if I should shoot back. I have license to carry."
She also notes that her two children are with her in the apartment, and that she's afraid for their lives.
The call ends after Yarbrough leaves her apartment to let police into the building.
Personnel files for Seraphine and Pearson show each have earned commendations for their service with MPD, but also have had multiple complaints leveled against them.
Seraphine has been named Officer of the Month twice, in November 2017 and October 2020. He also received a commendation in May 2020 for helping evacuate an apartment building that was on fire. He has three complaints on his record – one remains open, while two were closed with no discipline.
Pearson, an Army veteran, received a commendation in 2016 for helping to apprehend a man who was "high on PCP" and wielding a knife. There are eight complaints on Pearson's record, two of them open and six closed with no discipline.
A Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigation into MPD released earlier this year found "police misconduct complaints are inadequately investigated, resulting in officers not appropriately receiving discipline for misconduct."
Pearson and Seraphine were both part of the team that executed a no-knock warrant at a downtown Minneapolis apartment Feb. 2, during which officer Mark Hanneman shot and killed Amir Locke. No officers were charged in Locke's death, as prosecutors determined the shooting was justified.
Sundberg's family said he struggled with his mental health, and through an attorney, disputed the police narrative about his killing.
