FARGO – It's not the first time his brother got into trouble with a fake gun, Cody Redshirt said. The Bottineau man hit the road for Fargo when he figured out via social media that his brother Karmen Redshirt was lying in an Essentia Health bed Monday after being shot by Fargo police while brandishing an authentic-looking, pewter-colored gun at the end of a stolen car chase. Police hadn't yet identified Karmen Redshirt, but his friends did, when Redshirt's wife, Jennifer Stegman Redshirt, was arrested as the woman who ran away from the stolen car. Redshirt ran in the opposite direction as his wife, to a nearby parking lot, court documents say. When he was confronted by Fargo police Officer Patrick Thomas, Redshirt pointed the gun at Thomas, ignoring Thomas's orders to drop the weapon, documents say. Thomas fired three times, hitting Redshirt at least once. Police found out later it was a BB or pellet gun, police officials said.
Though state crime agents are still investigating whether the shooting was proper, interim Fargo Police Chief David Todd has defended Thomas, who had previously resigned as an officer with the North Dakota State University Police Department after accidentally shooting himself in the forearm. "It didn't even shoot pellets," Cody Redshirt said of the gun his brother was brandishing. "He found that, found that in the garage. It was held together with tape." Another fake gun helped send his brother's life along its current, errant trajectory, Cody Redshirt said. Karmen Redshirt, 31, of Bismarck, was running varsity track as an eighth-grader, performing well for three seasons for the Bismarck High School Demons, when he got kicked out of school for carrying a pellet gun on school grounds, his brother said. "When you're young like that, you get sent away, you don't get better," said Cody Redshirt, who admitted he has a substantial criminal record himself, mostly for financial crimes. "You learn better tricks of the trade." Court records show Karmen Redshirt began to rack up a series of criminal offenses after being booted from school: misdemeanor minor in consumption, possession of stolen property and fleeing from an officer on foot. His brother said Karmen Redshirt began to have hard feelings against police after watching fellow Turtle Mountain tribal members suffer what he felt was mistreatment at their hands. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2046184","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"502","title":"","width":"1054"}}]] Many people Cody Redshirt knows in Bottineau share his brother's feelings, even if they've never been arrested, he said. "They kind of get tensed up when there's a cop behind them." Soon, the offenses got more serious: Felony convictions for theft, accomplice to forgery, possession of stolen property and drug paraphernalia all appear on Karmen Redshirt's record. His latest set of charges, filed Tuesday in Cass County District Court, include four felonies - two counts of terrorizing, one of reckless endangerment, one of theft - and one count of Class B misdemeanor refusing to halt. Redshirt had just avoided a trial set to start Wednesday in Bottineau County, for the felony offense of having a cellphone while being held in the Bottineau jail. It was a case he made much easier for prosecutors by posting photos of himself on Facebook from his jail cell. "It didn't hurt," said Bottineau County prosecutor Swain Benson, who secured Redshirt's guilty plea in July. Karmen Redshirt's Facebook account shows a colorful panoply of other questionable pursuits, including one of someone smoking a substance out of a light bulb and another of Redshirt holding what appears to be an automatic rifle while dangling a set of car keys from his finger. There are also images of Redshirt's 11-year-old daughter. When he lost custody of her in 2010, there was a marked increase in his brother's aggressiveness, Cody Redshirt said. The images on the Facebook account don't tell the whole story, his brother believes. He described Karmen Redshirt as a kind, generous person who prefers to give others the benefit of the doubt. Even the picture that shows Karmen Redshirt thrusting his fingers toward the camera, emblazoned with what looks to be a "F--- COPS" tattoo, is proof that pictures aren't always worth a thousand words, his brother said. Fargo police released the photo to local media Tuesday. Karmen Redshirt wrote the letters on his knuckles in permanent marker, Cody Redshirt said. He had to explain to their mother it wasn't a real tattoo. It's clear to Cody Redshirt that at the time of the shooting, about 3 a.m. Monday, his brother and sister-in-law were extremely drunk. Now, he's not sure what to think since he's been barred from seeing Karmen in the hospital. He doesn't know the extent of his brother's injuries. "My brother's a good guy," Cody Redshirt said. "You make your life what it is. He made some mistakes."FARGO – It's not the first time his brother got into trouble with a fake gun, Cody Redshirt said. The Bottineau man hit the road for Fargo when he figured out via social media that his brother Karmen Redshirt was lying in an Essentia Health bed Monday after being shot by Fargo police while brandishing an authentic-looking, pewter-colored gun at the end of a stolen car chase. Police hadn't yet identified Karmen Redshirt, but his friends did, when Redshirt's wife, Jennifer Stegman Redshirt, was arrested as the woman who ran away from the stolen car. Redshirt ran in the opposite direction as his wife, to a nearby parking lot, court documents say. When he was confronted by Fargo police Officer Patrick Thomas, Redshirt pointed the gun at Thomas, ignoring Thomas's orders to drop the weapon, documents say. Thomas fired three times, hitting Redshirt at least once. Police found out later it was a BB or pellet gun, police officials said. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2046180","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"541","title":"","width":"1054"}}]] Though state crime agents are still investigating whether the shooting was proper, interim Fargo Police Chief David Todd has defended Thomas, who had previously resigned as an officer with the North Dakota State University Police Department after accidentally shooting himself in the forearm. "It didn't even shoot pellets," Cody Redshirt said of the gun his brother was brandishing. "He found that, found that in the garage. It was held together with tape." Another fake gun helped send his brother's life along its current, errant trajectory, Cody Redshirt said. Karmen Redshirt, 31, of Bismarck, was running varsity track as an eighth-grader, performing well for three seasons for the Bismarck High School Demons, when he got kicked out of school for carrying a pellet gun on school grounds, his brother said. "When you're young like that, you get sent away, you don't get better," said Cody Redshirt, who admitted he has a substantial criminal record himself, mostly for financial crimes. "You learn better tricks of the trade." Court records show Karmen Redshirt began to rack up a series of criminal offenses after being booted from school: misdemeanor minor in consumption, possession of stolen property and fleeing from an officer on foot. His brother said Karmen Redshirt began to have hard feelings against police after watching fellow Turtle Mountain tribal members suffer what he felt was mistreatment at their hands.
Many people Cody Redshirt knows in Bottineau share his brother's feelings, even if they've never been arrested, he said. "They kind of get tensed up when there's a cop behind them." Soon, the offenses got more serious: Felony convictions for theft, accomplice to forgery, possession of stolen property and drug paraphernalia all appear on Karmen Redshirt's record. His latest set of charges, filed Tuesday in Cass County District Court, include four felonies - two counts of terrorizing, one of reckless endangerment, one of theft - and one count of Class B misdemeanor refusing to halt. Redshirt had just avoided a trial set to start Wednesday in Bottineau County, for the felony offense of having a cellphone while being held in the Bottineau jail. It was a case he made much easier for prosecutors by posting photos of himself on Facebook from his jail cell. "It didn't hurt," said Bottineau County prosecutor Swain Benson, who secured Redshirt's guilty plea in July. Karmen Redshirt's Facebook account shows a colorful panoply of other questionable pursuits, including one of someone smoking a substance out of a light bulb and another of Redshirt holding what appears to be an automatic rifle while dangling a set of car keys from his finger. There are also images of Redshirt's 11-year-old daughter. When he lost custody of her in 2010, there was a marked increase in his brother's aggressiveness, Cody Redshirt said. The images on the Facebook account don't tell the whole story, his brother believes. He described Karmen Redshirt as a kind, generous person who prefers to give others the benefit of the doubt. Even the picture that shows Karmen Redshirt thrusting his fingers toward the camera, emblazoned with what looks to be a "F--- COPS" tattoo, is proof that pictures aren't always worth a thousand words, his brother said. Fargo police released the photo to local media Tuesday. Karmen Redshirt wrote the letters on his knuckles in permanent marker, Cody Redshirt said. He had to explain to their mother it wasn't a real tattoo. It's clear to Cody Redshirt that at the time of the shooting, about 3 a.m. Monday, his brother and sister-in-law were extremely drunk. Now, he's not sure what to think since he's been barred from seeing Karmen in the hospital. He doesn't know the extent of his brother's injuries. "My brother's a good guy," Cody Redshirt said. "You make your life what it is. He made some mistakes."
