Two officers involved in an officer involved shooting will not face criminal charges, according to Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider.
See video from the incident here.
According to an investigation done by the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, the officers actions were "appropriate" given the threat they faced.
Schneider said Officers Ryan Denu and Brody Erickson were working together in a squad car on August 19th. They saw Kole Knight out riding a bicycle in the area of Algoma Street in New London. They recognized him, and suspected there was a warrant out for his arrest.
Together in the squad car the officers called out to Knight and attempted to make contact with him. At this point Knight got off the bike and was near a home. That's when Schneider says he pulled something from his waistband and pointed it at officers.
It appeared to be a firearm. Upon seeing it, the officers immediately opened fire onto Knight; firing 17 rounds and hitting him 6 times. Two of those shots turned out to be fatal.
The handgun police thought they saw turned out to be a toy gun with the orange cap removed. Schneider says the DCI investigation found that Knight had taken the toy gun and the bike from the son of a former girlfriend whose house he had been at earlier that day. She was not aware he had taken the toy gun.
The investigation revealed Knight was wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle from the Menasha area. He had also expressed feelings that he did not want to go back to prison and was willing to end his own life to avoid jail.
You can read more on the full investigation here.
The two officers involved in the fatal August 19th shooting were both placed on paid administrative leave after the incident and will remain in that status until the end of an internal investigation by the New London Police Department.
