Man charged with attempted murder in shooting of Minnesota police officer

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WASECA, Minn. — A 37-year-old Waseca man was officially charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a police officer, who remains in critical condition. Tyler Robert Janovsky, 37, was officially charged Wednesday, Jan. 8, with three counts of attempted murder of a peace officer in the shooting of Waseca police Officer Arik Matson on Monday, Jan. 6. Matson, 32, remains in critical condition at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, according to the criminal complaint against Janovsky. Janovsky, who also was charged with possession of a firearm by an ineligible person, was shot twice and also remains hospitalized at North Memorial Hospital. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also released the name of the other Waseca police officer who fired his weapon on Monday evening. Sgt. Timothy Schroeder has been with the department 21 years and has been placed on administrative leave, a BCA release said. Matson has been with the Waseca Police Department for six years. According to the criminal complaint, shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, Waseca police responded to a call about an unknown suspicious person with a flashlight in the backyards of the 900 block of Fourth Avenue Southeast in Waseca. Four Waseca police officers responded to the area, including Matson, Schroeder, Capt. Kris Markeson and Officer Andrew Harren. Officers then made contact with Janovsky on a back balcony of a home on Third Avenue Northeast. Officer Harren came through the house and onto the balcony in pursuit of Javonsky, who then jumped from the balcony to the roof of an attached garage. When he crossed the pinnacle of the garage roof, Janovsky was then facing the front of the house and front driveway, the complaint said. Matson, along with Schroeder and Markeson, had circled around to the front of the house. Janovsky fired a shot at Harren, which missed, the complaint said, and he then fired his gun again, hitting Matson in the head. Schroeder was nearby, along the garage, and exchanged gunfire with Janovsky, who was hit twice, according to the complaint. The BCA is investigating at the request of the Waseca Police Department. Once the investigation is completed, the BCA will provide its findings without recommendation to the Waseca County Attorney’s Office for review, the release said. Waseca, with a population of 9,400, is located about 60 miles south of the Twin Cities. According to Forum News Service archives, Janovsky was arrested after an altercation with a homeowner in Ottertail who found Janovsky in his basement and fought with him in May 2016. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office said he was naked during the tussle. In early 2017, Janovsky was convicted of first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling — a felony — and received a five-year prison sentence. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Janovsky was released in September 2019. In December, authorities in Waseca County said they discovered firearms and materials for making meth at his residence while serving a search warrant. Janovsky was listed as a fugitive on the Minnesota Department of Corrections website and was considered “armed and dangerous” by authorities. Read the full story The post Man charged with attempted murder in shooting of Minnesota police officer appeared first on American Police Beat Magazine.