The Madison Police Department has reviewed 15 different complaints about an officer currently under investigation by the United States Department of Justice since hiring him in 1997, according to police records released Friday.
Officer Stephen Heimsness is presently on paid administrative leave for the duration of the federal investigation into whether or not his actions in a fatal altercation with a burglary suspect last fall were legally justified.
Heimsness claimed he was in fear for his life when he shot Paul Heenan Nov. 9 after an intoxicated Heenan mistakenly entered his neighbors’ house, prompting them to call the police.
A toxicology report shows Heenan had a blood alcohol level of 0.208 at the time of the shooting and, according to other records, Heenan’s friend Tom Anderson told detectives Heenan had a substance abuse problem but was not a violent person.
MPD investigators and the Dane County district attorney ruled Heimsness acted reasonably in the incident, but an outcry from the community and the Heenan family inspired the U.S. Justice Department to take up the case.
Since joining the force, Heimsness has been accused of “excessive force” eight times. He was found guilty in one, exonerated in one and the six remaining complaints returned a “no finding” verdict, meaning the the complaint’s author either filed it after the 90-day deadline, withdrew the complaint or refused to cooperate with the investigation.
According to the records released Friday, Heimsness was suspended for 15 days in July 2001 after being found guilty of using excessive force and was required to attend a training session about “deadly force decision making.”
The remaining seven allegations include the use of offensive language and “tyrannical conduct.”
