CLEARBROOK, Minn. — A northwestern Minnesota sheriff’s deputy suffered injuries from breaking glass when a suspect in a drug investigation fired at a helicopter the Polk County deputy was riding in Monday morning, authorities said.
Charges are pending against Carstie Lee Clausen of Clearbrook, who reportedly shot twice at the helicopter with a high-powered rifle in the far northwest Minnesota county.
The deputy was not identified in a statement from the Clearwater County sheriff’s office, but it noted that the officer was treated and released from Essentia Hospital in nearby Fosston, Minn.
The shots were fired at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter about 10 a.m. while it flew over an area in rural Clearwater County where suspected drug activity was thought to be occurring, the release said. The Polk County deputy was along in the helicopter as an observer for the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force and was injured when one of the rifle rounds shattered a window.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at the Fosston Municipal Airport.
Clearwater County deputies responded to the area, located just east of the Polk-Clearwater county line, and surrounded a small cabin and located Clausen, 71, hiding in the woods near the cabin. Clausen was taken into custody without further incident, the release said.