The BCA at Ashland Place Apartment in Rochester following a fatal officer-involved shooting on March 12, 2026. (KAAL-TV)
The man and police officer involved in a fatal shooting in Rochester last week have been identified by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) officials.
As previously reported, Rochester police and a crisis response team social worker responded to an apartment on the 1900 block of Ashland Drive Northwest at around 9:30 p.m. on March 11 for a man experiencing a mental health crisis.
Authorities arrived and spoke to Cleavon White, 47, who they say was acting “erratically and paranoid,” and determined that he was a threat to himself and others. The BCA notes that a woman and multiple children were also present.
White was reportedly placed on a 72-hour mental health hold and told he would be brought to the hospital, but he refused to go.
When officers tried to take White into custody, he resisted, grabbed an officer’s gun and pulled the trigger, causing the gun to fire, according to the BCA.
The officer yelled that White was going for the gun, resulting in Officer Josiah Duit firing multiple shots that hit White.
BCA officials say White was brought to the hospital, where he later died. Authorities added that no officers were injured.
Duit, who has three years of law enforcement experience, was placed on critical incident leave by the Rochester Police Department.
The BCA is investigating the shooting, which was partly captured by body-worn cameras.
