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Officer-involved shooting of Michael Rasmussen justified

Posted at 12:44 PM, Jul 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-25 23:08:25-04

UPDATED July 25, 2016: The Marinette County District Attorney has rendered his decision in the officer-involved shooting of Michael Rasmussen of Fitchburg, finding that the shooting was justified.

No criminal charges will be filed against the law enforcement officers involved in this critical incident.

According to the WI Department of Justice, there is no video recording of the actual shooting. But hours of 911 audio and dash cam video tell a story that police have been saying all along. 
 
According to the case report, Rasmussen approached three Marinette County deputies--Lance Lincoln, Brett West, and Jesse Parker--after he stopped his car on the side of the road in Pembine.
 
Then, Rasmussen walked towards the deputies with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, and ignored orders to stop. The deputies opened fire, killing Rasmussen.
 
Before the ordeal, Rasmussen had made clear on 911 calls he wanted to take his life, and if officers intervened, he would open fire on them.
 
"Can we settle this... reasonably?" you can hear the Marinette Co. 911 dispatcher asking Rasmussen over the phone.
 
"Yeah, we can," replies Rasmussen. "It's either going to be suicide by cop if this [expletive] idiot... keeps trailing me, or, you know, I'm just going to go somewhere peaceful, which I love, and do it." 
 
The autopsy shows Rasmussen died from gunshot wounds to his head, chest, shoulders, and both legs. 
 
Two squad cameras also captures audio from the shooting in which deputies can be heard shouting commands, like "drop the gun," and "get on the ground."
 

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One man is dead after approaching Marinette County Sheriff's officers with a gun. 
 
Earlier June 15, information was released by the Madison Police Department, about a man with a gun who had made threats of harm.
 
Police believed the man was traveling to Northern Wisconsin and possibly Marinette County. 
 
On Wednesday night Marinette County deputies found a car matching the description given by Madison Police. One man was in the car. 
 
Marinette County Chief Deputy James Hansen says deputies watched the car for several miles while attempting to talk with him by phone. 
 
During negotiation attempts the man stopped his car near a home on Highway 141 and Holmes Junction Road in Pembine.
 
Chief  Deputy Hansen says the man got out of his car, armed with a gun, and approached the deputy. 
 
Officials say he continued to walk towards deputies and did not listen to commands to drop his weapon. 
 
Chief Deputy Hansen says that deputies then responded to the incident as they are trained to do. 
 
The investigation has now been turned over to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. 
 
Marinette County officials say this is an isolated incident and that the community is not in any danger.