Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne determined Thursday the officers involved in the November shooting death of Paul Heenan will not face criminal court liability.
On Nov. 9, the MPD responded to a possible burglary in progress on the 500 block of South Baldwin Street on Madison’s east side, MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said in a November police report.
MPD Chief Noble Wray said at a press conference Nov. 12 that Officer Stephen Heimsness responded to the call, entered the home and saw Heenan, 30, struggling with the homeowner, which was when Heimsness pulled out his weapon.
The homeowner, Kevin O’Malley, said in a statement Nov. 9 his wife woke him when she heard someone enter their house through the front door.
O’Malley recognized Heenan as a new neighbor whom he had met a week earlier.
He also said he believed Heenan was intoxicated, and O’Malley was unable to take Heenan back to his own residence.
After O’Malley asked Heenan if he had been at the bar, Heenan asked why and said “okay, you wanna get weird?” according to the district attorney’s press release.
It was during this struggle that Heimsness responded to the incident and ordered both men to “get down, get down!” according to the press release.
Ozanne said in a statement Thursday Heenan “advanced quickly on the officer in an aggressive manner.”
Heimsness was able to create a separation between himself and Heenan, at which point he fired three shots, according to Ozanne.
Although another officer attempted to save Heenan’s life, he died from firearm related trauma, according to results from the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“Responding to a physical threat to be disarmed with deadly force may be reasonable under the law,” Ozanne said in a statement.
Under Wisconsin law, any person may use “deadly force” to respond to a situation where he or she has a “genuine fear of deadly force” from the other person, according to Ozanne.
“In this case, the officer felt compelled to use deadly force when he believed he was going to be disarmed by a suspect from a potential burglary,” Ozanne said in a statement.
The MPD are continuing to investigate the incident, but based on the evidence, the officers will not be charged, according to Ozanne.
