Maplewood Police Department, Minnesota
End of Watch: Saturday, May 1, 2010
Age: 49
Tour of Duty: 26 years
Badge Number: 357
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 1, 2010
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Shot and killed; second suspect 35 years
Sergeant Joseph Bergeron was shot and killed at approximately 7:00 am while attempting to question two men in connection with an earlier carjacking incident.
He located the men near the intersection of English Street and Arlington Avenue, in St. Paul, approximately 10 minutes after responding to reports of the carjacking. As he exited his patrol car, one of the men approached him and immediately opened fire, fatally wounding him.
A passerby who heard the shots and witnessed the shooter running from the scene immediately went to Sergeant Bergeron's aid and used his radio to call for assistance. Sergeant Bergeron died at the scene.
Approximately four hours after this shooting, an officer assigned to the crime scene's perimeter noticed one of the suspects walking out of the nearby woods near Ivy and Prosperity Avenues. The officer confronted the suspect, who then struck him in the face with a toolbox, breaking his nose and fracturing his eye sockets. The officer was able to fatally shoot the suspect during the ensuing struggle over control of the officer's weapon.
The second suspect surrendered to officers two hours later without further incident. He was subsequently sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Sergeant Bergeron had served with the Maplewood Police Department for 26 years. He is survived by his wife and twin daughters.