Authorities ID Carjacking Suspect Killed by Burnsville Police
The armed carjacking suspect who was fatally shot by Burnsville officers after a pursuit Sunday afternoon has been identified, as have the officers who fired their weapons, who are all on standard administrative leave.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday, April 21, identified the man who was fatally shot by police during the incident as Bradley Michael Olsen, 30, of Dresser, Wisc. Olsen died of multiple gunshot wounds after being transported to the hospital.
The officers who fired their weapons are: Sgt. Dan Anderson, Sgt. Brent Murray, Officer Paul Oelrich and Officer Chris Walswick. All four officers have had law enforcement careers spanning at least 19 years.
The BCA says that a Burnsville police officer attempted to pull over a truck on Sunday around 2:45 p.m. for having stolen plates. A short time later, the truck crashed into another vehicle at S. Cross Drive & Buck Hill Rd. The driver continued before the vehicle became disabled at S. Cross Dr. & Burnhaven Dr, when Olsen fled the truck on foot. He entered a restaurant on the 14000 block of Buck Hill Road, snatched a customer’s keys from their table and fled in their vehicle, the BCA said.
Bradley Michael Olsen, 30, of Dresser, Wisc. in a previous booking photo.
Officers spotted the stolen vehicle heading north on I-35W and a pursuit began. During the pursuit Olsen shot at pursuing officers several times, according to the BCA and emergency dispatch audio of the incident.
Olsen took the eastbound Highway 13 exit and at one point slowed the vehicle and jumped out, as can be seen in traffic camera video released to MN CRIME. He ran from the entrance ramp onto Highway 13 and pointed a gun at an oncoming vehicle, whose driver then turned into the grass median to flee. As Olsen attempted to flee the area, officers on the entrance ramp discharged their firearms, striking Olsen. He was transported by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis where he died a short time later.
No officers or bystanders were injured in the incident. A female passenger who was in the truck with Olsen before he stole the white vehicle left the scene and was later taken into custody by Lakeville police, interviewed by BCA agents and released.
The Sherburne County Attorney’s office said in November 2020 that Olsen was charged with a count of committing a drive-by shooting, a count of first-degree assault, a count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and a count of fleeing a peace officer for an incident in St. Francis, Minn.