1 year later, Burnsville sergeant injured in shooting remembers fellow officers killed in incident
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Sgt. Adam Medlicott didn't just work with the two Burnsville police officers who were shot and killed last year; he trained them and he mentored them.
"They were the officers you wanted on your street, coming to your house, and helping you," Medlicott told WCCO. "We don't talk about how their lives were taken from us. We talk about what they gave to our lives."
According to investigators, Shannon Gooden fatally shot police officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand, as well as firefighter and paramedic Adam Finseth, during a standoff on Feb. 18, 2024.
"When you think about Paul (Elmstrand), all you think is laughter," Medlicott recalled. "He was smart, he was funny, he was very personable. Everybody loved him and loved to hear his stories, especially about growing up on the farm with his dad. It got the whole room rolling with laughter."
The 27-year-old Elmstrand, he added, was on track for a big promotion.
"Through and through Paul would've made a great sergeant," Medlicott said.
Ruge, also 27, was a crisis negotiator; Medlicott said his efforts held off the gunman for more than three hours.
"He was absolutely a hero of this story with his ability to at least keep the suspect talking, talking with us and not engaging in any sort of violence so we can get resources put into place," Medlicott said.
Medlicott's return to active duty
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is still working on its official incident report, but preliminary investigation found the shooter fired off more than 100 rounds, and there were as many as 14 officers within his range.
"There were so many people that, you don't understand why a bullet finds one person and not another," Medlicott lamented. "There were so many people that escaped being hit but were shot at. This man tried to murder more people."
Medlicott was shot twice: once in the arm and once in the back, but that hit his vest. He was out for three months before returning to active duty.
"I wasn't going to allow one evil person to dictate what I do with my life," he said. "This is something I want to do. This is a job I want to do."
How he recuperated, moreover, is emblematic of the Burnsville Police Department's overall recovery as a working police force. Deputy Chief Matt Smith told WCCO that Medlicott has helped remove the stigma surrounding mental health and wellness.
"I'm really proud that around here we've gotten rid of that stigma to the point that you have people like Sgt. Medlicott, and many, many others, who talk about using the resources and going to therapy and getting help," Smith said.
The deputy chief added that every officer who responded to the standoff is now back on full-time active duty, and the next major milestone for everyone is to travel to Washington, D.C. in the spring to place Elmstrand and Ruge's names on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
"That's our national memorial. That is for the nation," Medlicott said. "When you go to that memorial, it's somber, but you also look at these names and you see men and women who were doing the right things and courageous and honorable acts."
