Global Courant 2023-05-08 07:00:40
A St. Croix County, Wisconsin deputy was shot dead Saturday night while responding to a suspected drunk driver who drove into a ditch.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice said Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, responded to the scene of the car crash in Glenwood, Wisconsin, at about 6:15 p.m. Saturday and encountered the driver, Jeremiah D. Johnson, 34. Another vehicle had stopped to assist Johnson before Leising arrives.
The deputy asked Johnson to perform sobriety tests before returning to his vehicle, but he evaded her requests. After about eight minutes, Johnson turned to Leising, pulled out a gun and shot her, the DOJ said in a press release.
The shooting was reportedly captured by a body camera, the release stated, which showed Leising answered with three shots and never hit Johnson before fleeing to a wooded area.
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St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising was shot and killed in the line of duty Saturday. (Wisconsin Department of Justice)
The people in the vehicle who stopped to help Johnson began life-saving measures against Leising, who was taken to a nearby hospital where she later died.
Officers responding to the scene searched the woods near the scene, and nearly an hour after Leising was shot, an officer located Johnson, heard a shot, and watched him fall to the ground. Officers found a gun where Johnson was found dead.
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The DOJ said law enforcement officials did not fire their guns while searching for Johnson.
The Wisconsin Criminal Justice Department DOJ is leading the investigation with the help of neighboring law enforcement agencies, Wisconsin State Patrol and the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.
On Sunday, St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson announced that the 29-year-old deputy sheriff had been killed.
FILE – Police warning tape at a crime scene. (iStock)
The sheriff said Leising had served with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office since 2022, and before she joined the South Dakota Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, about two years.
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“Our love and condolences go out to Kaitie Leising’s family and all those she served with,” said Sheriff Knudson. “We, as a law enforcement family, will do everything we can to continue to support and comfort her family. We will miss her infectious smile and personality. She will be missed by all she touched.”
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.