Family Maintains Officer’s Death Was an Accident

By Richard Seward

Published on April 02, 2007

Officer Ryan Hoeft was found dead in his squad car of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, the Hennepin County medical examiner reported following the incident in November 2001.

Since then, the Hoeft family has believed otherwise and has fought to have the medical examiner's ruling overturned. The family maintains that Hoeft had no reason to commit suicide and was even considering getting married.

Hoeft was a rookie officer at the time of the incident, and had just recently begun to patrol on his own a few days prior to his death. He was found shot in the head in an apparent suicide.

The Anoka County coroner agreed to review Hoeft's case with another investigator. After reenacting several possible scenarios, they determined that the officer's death could have been accidental, possibly caused while the officer carried the gun in his hand as his vehicle hit a curb, causing the weapon to discharge.

The Hennepin County medical examiner still stands by his original determination.

If the lawsuit is successful in having the ruling overturned, the Hoeft family could be awarded death benefits. However, they maintain that their fight is for peace of mind alone and not for any monetary compensation.

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