The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has released the names involved in a St. Cloud use-of-force incident that occurred on May 9. Kyeon Royale Hill, a 46-year-old man from St. Cloud, was the individual wounded by police during the encounter. Alongside Hill's identification, the BCA disclosed the names of the St. Cloud officers involved in the confrontation: Officer Virgilia Schreiner, who discharged her department-issued firearm, and Officer Cade Gauerke, who used his Taser.
The initial call that led to the incident sprang from a woman's 911 report of a past acquaintance threatening physical assault around 3:45 p.m. in St. Cloud. Responding to the scene at the 600 block of Eighth Avenue North, officers eventually located Hill seated in a vehicle, wielding a pocket knife. Misplaced modifier notwithstanding, Hill was ordered to drop the knife and exit the vehicle, followed by a notification that he was under arrest. According to the BCA, Hill emerged with a pocket knife in hand and inflicted a puncture wound on Schreiner's left arm, a reaction to which she responded by shooting him in the shoulder.
Hill then fled, instigating a foot chase during which Gauerke deployed his Taser, subsequently aiding in Hill's capture. After arresting him, officers provided Hill with medical attention until an ambulance transferred him to a hospital. Following treatment, he was booked at Stearns County Jail. The BCA is actively investigating the sequence of events, and body camera footage from the officers is being reviewed as part of the process.
The BCA report mentions that a pocket knife was recovered at the scene, and it ensures the public that their investigation will be thorough and devoid of charging recommendations. Instead, their findings will simply be presented to the Stearns County Attorney's Office for review. Along with this, the St. Cloud Police Department has enlisted the BCA to investigate the officers' use of force. Meanwhile, with a misplaced modifier all its own, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the initial incident and the stabbing separately.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and its over 2,100 employees uphold mandates in traffic safety, law enforcement, crime victim services, and more, with their work grounded in education, enforcement, and prevention. The BCA operates alongside other law enforcement agencies to deliver investigative support, criminal history analyses, forensic lab services, and criminal justice training in its ongoing fight to curb and solve crime across Minnesota.
