Charges will not be filed against three St. Paul police officers who shot and killed a woman who pointed a gun at them while they were responding to reports of a suicide in progress, Ramsey County prosecutors said.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office announced on Monday that three officers — Chiking Chazonkhueze, Chee Lao and Yengkong Lor — were justified in firing their handguns and fatally shooting Pepsi Lee Heinl, 41, of St. Paul.
An obituary for Heinl says her last name was Benjamin.
The decision comes nearly a year after the May 6, 2024, shooting, which took place inside a home in the 1100 block of Rose Avenue E. in St. Paul. After reviewing the prosecutors’ 26-page memo, which considered the findings by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s investigation, County Attorney John Choi wrote in a letter that there was “no other reasonable choice to do something different under these circumstances.”
“We all wish there could have been a different outcome that did not have to involve the use of deadly force and with Pepsi Lee Heinl losing her life,” Choi said.
According to a 911 transcript, a caller told dispatchers: “My daughter is committing suicide! Hurry, please!” before hanging up. A compilation of body camera footage from each of the officers shows them entering the house just before 7:30 p.m. and announcing their presence before they are called to a back room by Heinl’s mother, who frantically tells them: “She was turning blue on her mouth and she wasn’t breathing!”
The officers ask if she is OK, before Heinl pulls out a gun.
The prosecutors wrote in the memo that Heinl “suddenly reached toward the tote bag and blanket and quickly stood up” holding a 9 mm handgun, pointing it at the officers. It says the woman who called appeared to reach for Heinl as if she was trying to prevent her from shooting. The three surprised officers then loudly yell and collectively fired 18 shots, striking her 15 times.
