Family releases photo of Deputy Steven Sandberg to @KSTP #RIPDeputySandberg
A sheriff's deputy in Aitkin County, Minnesota, was killed Sunday when the man he was standing guard over in St. Cloud Hospital grabbed his gun and shot him, officials said.
Deputy Steven Sandberg, 60, was assigned the detail after the hospital requested the sheriff's office sent someone to keep an eye on a patient who was the suspect of a domestic related incident.
Danny Hammond, 50, was that patient. He was not under arrest, nor was he being held for a crime. But Drew Evans, the superintendent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that the man was a suspect in a domestic-related incident who was seeking treatment for an undisclosed medical condition at the hospital.
At around 5:15 a.m. Sunday, a struggle began between Sandberg and Hammond. Hammond was able to grab the deputy's gun and fire off several rounds, fatally wounding the officer.
"Several shots were fired during that struggle and then security officers were able to get into the room and the subject was tased with a taser and taken into custody," Evans said in a news conference Sunday. Sometime after he was taken into custody, he "became unresponsive" and life-saving attempts were unsuccessful.
The medical examiner's office was performing autopsies to determine both Sandberg and Hammond's cause of death.
Authorities did not disclose the nature of the domestic incident in which Hammond was a suspect. They also did not make clear what sort of medical condition he was being treated for.
Sandberg, who had been with the Aitkin County Sheriff's Department since 1981, leaves behind a wife and daughter.
“I deplore the terrible, senseless murder of Deputy Sheriff Steven Sandberg. On behalf of all Minnesotans, I extend my deepest condolences to his family," Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said in a statement.