Teacher shot by Mankato officer had a 'tremendous spirit,' principal says

The man fatally shot by police in Mankato over the weekend was a Shakopee teacher, and is described by a coworker as a "tremendous spirit."

Chase Tuseth, a 33-year-old science and physical education teacher at the Tokata Learning Center, was killed at the Mankato County Inn & Suites early Saturday, the school district confirmed Monday.

“Chase possessed a tremendous spirit and passion for education,” Principal Eric Serbus said in a statement. “We will miss his thoughtfulness, kindness, as well as his dedication to our students and community.”

Counselors will be available at the school Tuesday when students return from winter break, the school says.

What we know about the shooting

Update: Authorities Monday afternoon released details about what they say led to the shooting. You can read that update here.

Officials initially only said an officer responded to a "disturbance" at the hotel just after 4 a.m. Saturday, where there was a confrontation with a single white male. During the altercation, the man was shot by the officer and died.

Monday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension – which is investigating – said Tuseth was ignoring commands, and kicked and hit the officer who was trying to handcuff him.

The officer had to be treated for injuries at Mayo Clinic, but was eventually discharged, the news release said.

The lack of information had been frustrating for Tuseth's family, his uncle Mark Liptrap told the Mankato Free Press. Liptrap assumes Tuseth was out drinking with friends from college the night before and doesn't deny that Tuseth could have done something wrong. Liptrap did say Tuseth didn't have a history of getting violent and he questions the officer's use of force in the incident, the paper says.

Officer-involved shootings

Tuseth is the 14th person to be killed by an officer in Minnesota in 2016, according to the Washington Post's database. Nationally, 957 people were killed by police in 2016 (although the database hasn't been updated to include the last two days of the year).

In 2015, 991 people were fatally shot by police, the newspaper reports, including 12 in Minnesota.