As deputy mourned, details emerge about hospital gunman
AITKIN, Minn. — The community is mourning a veteran investigator authorities say was shot and killed by a suspect he was monitoring Sunday morning at a Minnesota hospital.
Steven Martin Sandberg, 60, was a 24-year veteran of the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office, with 20 years spent as an investigator. He also was a volunteer with the city's fire department, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Sandberg was monitoring a suspect being treated at St. Cloud Hospital for medical reasons when the suspect got out of his bed around 5:15 a.m. and initiated a struggle, took Sandberg's gun, and shot him, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The suspect was identified as Danny Leroy Hammond, 50, of rural Aitkin, who also died Sunday morning.
Hammond was a suspect in a domestic incident that occurred early last week, said Aitkin County Sheriff Scott Turner. Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said Hammond had not been arrested and was not in handcuffs. St. Cloud Hospital Vice President Kurt Otto said the hospital requested the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office monitor Hammond because of the seriousness of the domestic incident. Hammond had been monitored for more than a day, Otto said.
According to criminal charges, Hammond's wife was held hostage by her husband and forced to eat rat poison a week before Sunday's fatal shooting.
Hammond was charged with several counts in the incident involving his wife, including kidnapping, assault and terroristic threats. Deputies from the Sheriff's Office responded to the Hammond residence Oct. 11, after receiving a call from the father of Hammond's wife.
Two deputies and Sandberg responded to the residence and found Hammond's wife who was "visibly distraught," and had several abrasions and wounds, according to the complaint.
Evans said after Sandberg was shot, two hospital security guards and an Aitkin County deputy on hand to relieve Sandberg responded. Authorities used a stun gun to subdue Hammond, who later died. Evans said more information about the cause of Hammond's death would be available after an autopsy.
Hammond had been convicted of felony escaping from custody in 1990, as well as felony third-degree burglary in 1989 and felony terroristic threats in 1990. All the convictions were for crimes committed in Aitkin County.
"I hope everyone will keep investigator Sandberg and his wife and daughter in their thoughts in the coming days," Turner said.
Family members say Sandberg was born in St. Louis Park and moved to the city of Aitkin as a child. He attended Minnesota State University, Moorhead.
He is survived by wife, Kristi, and daughter, Cassie, who now attends her parents' alma mater.
"He was a wonderful dad and an awesome uncle," said Lainey Sandberg, his niece.
Sandberg is described as a well-known and well-respected, all-American good guy.
At Aitkin United Methodist Church, Pastor Dawn Houser said the phone was ringing all Sunday with parishioners asking what they could do to help.
"Part of being a good police officer is loving people, and he did that, he embodied that," said Houser. "He was a good dad, he was a good husband, he was a good neighbor, he was a good parishioner in the church, and this is going to be devastating to his family."
The incident between Hammond and his wife began when she tried to end the long, abusive marriage. She told investigators that they were together for about 25 years and married for 12, but the relationship was always abusive.
According to the charges, Hammond's wife told him she no longer loved and wanted a divorce. Hammond locked all the doors and windows and pulled out a loaded .9 mm pistol and told his wife they were together "until death do we part."
She believed he was going to kill them both. She tried to escape, but was captured. The next morning she persuaded Hammond to let her go to her father's house.
Sunday's incident was confined to Hammond's hospital room and no patients or personnel were injured.
Otto praised hospital security staff and said their actions "kept this from being a bigger tragedy."
Sandberg is the 100th police officer to be killed on duty in the U.S. this year, according to the website Officer Down Memorial Page.
Contributing: Sam Louwagie, St. Cloud (Minn.) Times.