The man fatally shot Wednesday by St. Paul police after they say he drove at officers had threatened cops less than two months ago, according to a police report.

As an officer was driving Marcus Ryan Golden, 24, to jail in November, he said, “I hope you get killed soon, go to hell bro” and “You devils gonna’ burn in hell,” among other things, the report said.

Golden had a history of allegedly making threats. Police said they were responding early Wednesday to a report that the suspect had sent death threats to someone via text message.

A relative said Wednesday that Golden had been reeling from the sudden deaths of his brother and aunt last year, and was dealing with depression. He came from a tight-knit family, according to the St. Paul NAACP president.

Police were called at 2:14 a.m. Wednesday to the Valley Hi-Rise, a St. Paul Public Housing Agency apartment building at 261 E. University Ave., near Interstate 35E and across from Regions Hospital. Officers found the suspect, shots were fired and the man was struck, according to police.

Officers were not injured. Responding officers had been notified that the suspect was known to carry a gun, police said. Whether the suspect fired shots is part of the investigation, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a St. Paul police spokesman. Police said they recovered a firearm at the scene of the shooting.

Jeff Martin, who heads the St. Paul NAACP, said the man was black and called Wednesday for an independent investigation.

“What we’re asking for from the NAACP, which I’m sure every citizen in the city of St. Paul is asking for, is that a complete investigation be done,” Martin said at a news conference.

“In this particular situation, with the environment that we have in our nation with names such as Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Mr. Lollie … being in the news on a national level, we ask at this time that the St. Paul Police Department and the mayor’s office maybe consider hiring an independent investigator to take a look at this case.”

Police Chief Thomas Smith said the department “is built on a strong foundation of trust.”

“We assure the citizens that this investigation will continue to be conducted to the high standards our community expects and deserves,” Smith said, asking “citizens to be patient and allow us to thoroughly complete our process.”

The man who called police said his former girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend had threatened him via text message, and the suspect was seen in a vehicle in the parking lot five minutes earlier, according to police radio traffic of the incident posted by Minnesota Police Clips.

The caller said the suspect was known to carry a gun but one had not been seen that night, according to the radio traffic.

An officer could be heard saying, “Shots fired, shots fired,” in the Police Clips audio. At 2:21 a.m., an officer said paramedics were needed for a gunshot victim. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Paulos said.

‘I’LL POP YOUR HEAD OFF’

Golden’s past threats against police came Nov. 26 after a complaint that he had been sitting across from a Grand Avenue apartment building for 45 minutes.

Golden had been breaking windows and making threats at the apartment, where Mike Elton, whose daughter used to date Golden, lived, according to Elton and a police report.

Golden had tossed bricks through Elton’s windows and placed a firecracker inside a door, burning the carpet, Elton said. Golden threatened Elton’s daughter and said he would kill Elton, the man said.

“He took his revenge out on me to get back at her,” Elton said.

Elton obtained a harassment restraining order against Golden in November.

Elton hadn’t talked to his daughter after Golden was killed and didn’t know whether the threats that police were called about on Wednesday involved her.

At the time of his death, police had two open cases involving Golden and allegations he’d damaged property earlier in November at Elton’s residence.

In the case of Golden’s arrest, a Ramsey County attorney’s office spokesman said his office determined there wasn’t enough evidence to proceed with charges and returned the case for further investigation.

In December, the FBI contacted a police investigator after Golden applied for a gun permit, according to the police report. The investigator said Golden was eligible to buy a gun, the report said.

In 2012, when Golden didn’t have a permit to carry a gun, he was convicted of transporting a loaded firearm, a misdemeanor.

A woman, then 21, reported to police she’d gotten together with Golden, her ex-boyfriend, to talk at the Linwood Recreation Center. Golden told the woman that he’d bought a gun the day before, according to a criminal complaint.

The woman wanted to leave, but he wouldn’t let her. At one point, Golden reached in his waistband, saying, “I’ll pop your head off,” according to the complaint.

During his subsequent arrest, police used a stun gun on Golden when he became agitated and refused to cooperate.

Golden completed his probation in that case last year.

‘TOUGH SITUATIONS FOR THE POLICE’

“This is a young man who took care of his responsibilities, grew up in a fine family,” his uncle, Brian Hill, said Wednesday.

He said his nephew was suffering from post-traumatic stress after the deaths of an aunt and his brother. “You would think they were twins,” Hill said of Golden and his brother.

Police asked anyone who saw Wednesday’s fatal shooting to call 651-266-5650.

At the NAACP news conference, Martin asked witnesses to call his organization at 651-649-0520 “to give them an opportunity to help the police with the investigation.”

The officers involved in the shooting — one has been with the department for seven years and the other for nearly two years — were placed on three-day paid administrative leave, which is the department’s policy.

Martin said the NAACP’s call for an independent investigation “is not a rush to judgment on the NAACP’s part. … We know these are tough situations for the police, that they take them seriously, know that the mayor takes them seriously, as well. We want to protect all of our citizens, but we also want to make sure that we have a very transparent police process, especially when there’s an officer-involved shooting.”

Nekima Levy-Pounds, a University of St. Thomas law professor and director of the Community Justice Project, said she was seeking an independent investigation, too.

“Given the alarm across the country about deadly interactions between police and African-American men, it’s important that the process is seen as fair, transparent and impartial,” Levy-Pounds said.

The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in August, and Eric Garner in New York City in July have set off protests in the Twin Cities and across the nation, as well as calls for police reforms. Both men were black and unarmed, and died in street encounters with police officers. Grand juries did not indict officers in either case.

The Chris Lollie case that Martin referred to involved a man stunned by a Taser by a St. Paul police officer in a downtown skyway last year; a video of the incident drew national attention. A building security guard had told Lollie to move from a skyway lounge where others were seated. Trespassing and other charges against Lollie were later dismissed.

The NAACP has been talking to Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Smith about the way that police cases are typically reviewed in St. Paul — through the Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission, Martin said. The NAACP views the process as “not totally independent” because, although the review board includes civilians, two active officers are also on the board, Martin said.

Coleman is “open to evolving” the review commission process, said Tonya Tennessen, Coleman’s spokeswoman. “He remains committed to talking to some of the very same leaders who helped to create it about their ideas on how to do that,” she said.

Tennessen said her office wouldn’t comment about calls for an independent investigation until police have completed their preliminary work.

“From the mayor’s perspective, the police are in the middle of their investigation,” she said.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried.