A St. Croix County, Wisconsin deputy was shot and killed on Saturday night time whereas responding to a attainable drunk driver who drove right into a ditch.
The Wisconsin Division of Justice mentioned Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, responded to the scene of the automobile crash in Glenwood, Wisconsin, at about 6:15 p.m. on Saturday and encountered the driving force, Jeremiah D. Johnson, 34.
One other automobile had stopped to help Johnson previous to Leising’s arrival.
The deputy requested Johnson to carry out area sobriety exams earlier than returning to his automobile, however he grew to become evasive to her requests.
After about eight minutes, Johnson turned towards Leising, drew a handgun and shot her, the DOJ mentioned in a press launch.
The taking pictures was reportedly captured on physique digicam, the discharge famous, which confirmed Leising returning hearth with three pictures, by no means as soon as hitting Johnson earlier than he fled to a wooded space.
The folks within the automobile that stopped to help Johnson started lifesaving measures on Leising, who was taken to a close-by hospital the place she later died.
Officers who responded to the scene searched the woods close to the scene, and practically an hour after Leising was shot, an officer situated Johnson, heard a shot, and watched him fall to the bottom.
Officers recovered a handgun the place Johnson was discovered useless.
The DOJ mentioned legislation enforcement officers didn’t discharge their weapons through the seek for Johnson.
The Wisconsin DOJ’s Division of Legal Justice is main the investigation with the help of neighboring legislation enforcement businesses, Wisconsin State Patrol and the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.
On Sunday, St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson introduced that the 29-year-old deputy was killed.
The sheriff mentioned Leising served with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office since 2022, and previous to becoming a member of, she served with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Workplace in South Dakota for about two years.
“Our love and condolences exit to the household of Kaitie Leising and all these with whom she served,” Sheriff Knudson mentioned. “We, as a legislation enforcement household, will do all the things attainable to proceed to offer help and luxury to her household. We’ll miss her infectious smile and character. She shall be missed by all she touched.”
