SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The two Yankton Police officers that shot Andrew Jondahl on Dec. 5 were justified in their response, the state attorney general’s office said Friday.
“This individual refused officer commands and held two firearms in the direction of the officers,” said Attorney General Marty Jackley in a news release. “There was a clear and present danger to law enforcement on scene and to the public, justifying and requiring their actions.”
Jondahl, 40, was injured outside the Yankton High School from officer-fired gunshots.
The Division of Criminal Investigation report outlines the incident.
Jondahl was allegedly sitting inside his pickup truck in the parking lot. He had been escorted out of a high school wrestling event and appeared intoxicated.
Jondahl was making threats of self-harm and held a long gun in his lap.
When law enforcement arrived, Jondahl refused officer commands twice to place his hands outside the truck window. When he finally exited the vehicle, he was holding two shotguns in his hands and was facing the officers in a manner where he could have fired upon the officers.
The two officers fired 14 .223-caliber rounds at Jondahl, who received four non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. No one else was injured.
Jondahl tested positive for alcohol with a blood alcohol content level of .152 percent. The two officers tested negative for alcohol and drugs.
Officers recovered two shotguns, both with live shells in the magazine tubes, and one weapon had a live shell in the chamber.
Also discovered in the truck were two napkins with handwriting on them including one statement that said, “I will kill them until they kill me.”
Jondahl has not yet been arrested. Two charges of aggravated assault against law enforcement (class 2 felonies) and one charge of possession of a loaded firearm while intoxicated (class 1 felony) are pending.
This is the fifth officer involved shooting in South Dakota in 2024.
DCI’s summary of the investigation can be found here.
