FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — A Fond du Lac deputy will not face charges stemming from an officer-involved shooting last fall. His K9 partner, who was shot by the suspect, will also make a full recovery.
- The Fond du Lac County District Attorney will not file charges in the shooting of 34-year-old Kyle Massie last fall
- Deputy Blaine Evans is on administrative leave
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Fond du Lac county District Attorney Eric J. Toney says there will be no charges against Deputy Blaine Evans.
Toney says last October, Evans had gone to a home where a woman accused 34-year-old Kyle Massie of assaulting her.
Officials say Massie took off, and when later confronted by Evans, pulled out a gun.
The sheriff's office says Massie shot at Evans 45 times but Evans, who avoided being hit, shot the suspect twice.
Sheriff Ryan F. Waldschmidt spoke on behalf of the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, defending Evans’ actions.
“No officer comes to work—no deputy comes to work—with the intent of getting in a shootout with anybody. We are always looking for a peaceful resolution no matter what the circumstances are,” said Waldschmidt.
But while Evans escaped unharmed, his K9 partner, Iro, did not.
Toney shared something Evans said that was captured on police cameras.
“You saved Dad, and now we have to save you.”
Iro was struck 5 times by gunfire. One of those shots shattered his back right leg.
Evans, joined by Fond du Lac police officer Charles Beckford, transported Iro to the hospital, where doctors saved his life.
Waldschmidt says that through all of this, K9s are more than just, “tools," they are family.
“Each one of them goes home every night with their handler, lives with their family at their private residence, and then goes to work for 8 hours just like Deputy Evans did that night. They are as much of a pet as much as they are a tool when working in law enforcement," said Waldschmidt.
Deputy Evans was present at the press conference but did not speak. The sheriff says K9 Iro has not been medically cleared yet but is going through training to return to work in the field.
