The Kewaunee County Sheriff's deputy involved in a fatal on-duty shooting on August 21 previously resigned from the department over a weapons conviction from a 2008 case, the sheriff's department said Wednesday.
Deputy Jamie Tlachac shot and killed 22-year-old Tyler Whitmire August 21 after deputies responded to a call and found Whitmire had a knife and was threatening a woman and nearby people, according to the DOJ. A confrontation between deputies and Whitmire ended with the fatal shooting, according to the DOJ.
In August of 2008, Tlachac shot a personally-owned assault rifle toward the patio door at his home in Luxemburg, according to court documents. Tlachac had been drinking and blacked out, but remembered that he fired the two shots, according to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC26. No one was hurt in the incident, according to Sheriff Matt Joski.
Tlachac had been with the department for a little over three years at that time and worked as a dispatcher and jailer, according to Joski. Outside agencies investigated the incident from an internal and criminal perspective, the sheriff's department said.
No one else was present during the incident, which Tlachac self-reported, Joski said.
Deputy Tlachac was charged with a weapons offense and resigned from the agency, according to the department.
He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of possession of a firearm while intoxicated and disorderly conduct, court records showed. A felony charge of reckless endangerment was dismissed.
He continued to work as a volunteer firefighter and EMT and was then hired by another law enforcement agency where he served as a patrol officer, Joski said in a statement.
Tlachac reapplied and was rehired by the Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department in January 2012 as a jailer/dispatcher. He applied for and was appointed to the Patrol Division in February 2015.
"The decision to re-hire Deputy Tlachac was based on his continued service and ability to prove the 2008 incident was an isolated incident," Joski said in a statement. "Since his rehiring, there have been no further disciplinary actions."
Three other officers involved in the Whitmire incident were identified Tuesday. They are:
- Sergeant Dustin E. Smidle, Kewaunee Co. Sheriff's Department (22 years of service)
- Deputy Jordan D. Salentine, Kewaunee Co. Sheriff's Department (3 years of service)
- Officer Brian D. Gale, Kewaunee Police Department (4 years of service)
Whitmire was killed on August 21 after a confrontation with law enforcement officers.
The DOJ is continuing to investigate the officer-involved shooting.
