Officers Identified in Midway Township Officer-Involved Shooting

Authorities have released the names of the two officers who shot a Cloquet woman following a stand-off in Midway Township on February 11. 

Officer Kristy Hansen, of the Hermantown Police Department, and Minnesota State Trooper Andres Gomez have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting.   Hansen is an 11-year-vet of the Hermantown Police Department.  Gomez has been with the State patrol for two years. 

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, and multiple law enforcement agencies, responded to the Augustana Church around 11 p.m. on February 11 on reports of a female threatening to commit suicide by firearm. 

When authorities arrived at the church, the woman, identified as 48-year-old Kristen Johnson, got out of her car and allegedly pointed the gun at police multiple times. 

That’s when Officer Hansen and Trooper Gomez opened fire, striking Johnson twice. Johnson remains hospitalized at Essentia Health-St mary’s  Medical Center in Duluth.   

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting and will turn it over to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office for review.