POLK COUNTY, Minn. — An East Grand Forks man who died after being shot by law enforcement officers on Tuesday was accused of violating his conditional release and for failing to appear in court.

Lucas Paul Gilbertson, 42, was shot by a still-unidentified officer — or officers — sometime after noon at his mother’s home in Rhinehart Township in far northwestern Minnesota’s Polk County. The Grand Forks Herald spoke with a family member, Jane Gilbertson, who confirmed her nephew’s death.

His mother was present at the time of the shooting, Jane Gilbertson said.

Information about the incident remained scant as of Wednesday. The Herald reported on Tuesday that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, East Grand Forks Police Department and Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force were at the 445th Avenue Southwest residence looking for Lucas Gilbertson. He exited the house at one point, then returned inside, where officers followed and shot him.

Lucas Gilbertson was transported to the Grand Forks, N.D., hospital by ambulance, according to a sheriff’s office press release. He didn’t survive surgery, his aunt said.

“They couldn’t get him to stop bleeding,” Jane Gilbertson said. “He just didn’t make it. He bled out.”

On Wednesday, area law enforcement, Rhinehart Township leaders and various East Grand Forks City Council members either declined to comment, said they couldn’t comment due to lack of knowledge, or didn’t respond to the Herald’s inquiries.

A public information officer for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed the BCA had taken over the investigation into Gilbertson’s death. The BCA is statutorily required to investigate incidents that involve law enforcement use of force when requested to do so, PIO Bonney Bowman said.

“When that happens, we do take over the entirety of the investigation — with what happened in the incident, the officers involved and the person who was involved,” she told the Herald.

Bowman declined to answer most of the Herald’s questions due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and it remains unclear who was involved in the shooting, what agency or agencies they belonged to, and how many times Gilbertson was shot.

A preliminary investigation is underway and, when it’s completed, additional details will be released to the public. This release is expected Friday at the earliest, and Monday at the latest, Bowman told the Herald.

A complete investigation into a deadly use-of-force incident typically takes around two months, she said. During this time, any available video will be thoroughly reviewed, follow-up interviews will be completed, forensic evidence will be processed and all relevant records will be examined — such as agency training and policy records — according to the BCA.

After the investigation concludes, BCA Force Investigations Unit agents will share the results with a county attorney, who then decides whether to file charges against the officer or officers involved.

Gilbertson was in the midst of a multi-felony case at the time of his death. After suspected conditional release violations, a warrant was issued for his arrest in July 2023.

The suspected violations were unspecified in public court documents.

The case was filed in June 2022, but many charges were amended within the same month. Gilbertson’s active charges included 12 felonies: unlawful possession of a firearm, fifth-degree drug possession, third-degree burglary, two counts of theft and seven counts of receiving stolen property. He was also charged with one count of gross misdemeanor receiving stolen property.

The unlawful firearm possession charge had a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and $30,000 in fines.

A dozen reportedly stolen items were found on Gilbertson’s property, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Gilbertson admitted he stole some items, but said he purchased other items he suspected were stolen, the complaint said.

Gilbertson has prior felony convictions dating back to 2012 for burglary, drug sales and other crimes.

Rhinehart Township, a few miles south of East Grand Forks, had just 139 residents documented in the 2020 U.S. Census. Kristie Wolff, township clerk, and Danny Messelt, chairperson, told the Herald incidents like this in Rhinehart are unheard of.

“I don’t remember anything like that happening around the Rhinehart area,” said Messelt, who’s lived in the area for more than two decades. “It’s usually pretty quiet.”

It’s unclear to Jane Gilbertson why law enforcement showed up at the Rhinehart Township residence looking for her nephew.

“He had his own place,” she said.

She said Lucas Gilbertson told her law enforcement knew where he lived and had been to his East Grand Forks residence since the arrest warrant was issued.

Jane Gilbertson was adamant her nephew wasn’t a risk to law enforcement and, in fact, “he was scared to death of them,” she said. He wasn’t violent and didn’t hurt anybody but himself, she said.

“He was a drug addict,” she said. “That was his whole issue.”

Jane Gilbertson doesn’t have any children, so her nephew was more like her son, she said.

“He was a good kid,” she said. “He would’ve done anything for anybody. He had the biggest heart ever.”

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