OSHKOSH – The officer who fatally shot 85-year-old Robert Lapp in the Fleet Farm parking lot May 10 will not face criminal charges after the Winnebago County district attorney concluded the use of deadly force was justified.
District Attorney Eric Sparr said Lapp created an extreme risk to the officer’s life when he drew and pointed a gun at the officer, according to Sparr’s decision.
The unnamed officer was responding to a report of a stolen firearm at Fleet Farm, 177 N. Washburn St., when the shooting happened.
What body camera footage shows in Oshkosh Fleet Farm shooting
Body camera footage shows Lapp walking from behind a car in the parking lot as the officer approaches him and tells Lapp to “keep your hands where I can see them.”
Lapp pulls up his sweatshirt to reach into his waist, prompting the officer to yell “do not reach for that gun” before firing two shots at Lapp.
The officer then shouts “drop the gun” three times before saying “do not reach for the gun,” with Lapp redacted from the body camera footage after he falls.
The footage is blurred as another officer arrives on screen, and the sound of handcuffs being applied can be heard.
Winnebago County district attorney says officer shooting was justified
According to the summary of facts in Sparr’s statement, Lapp was still holding the gun with both hands while on the ground.
The legal standard requires courts to evaluate an officer’s use of force based on the facts known to the officer at the time, including the severity of the crime, whether the suspect posed an immediate threat and whether the suspect actively resisted arrest.
“V1 took appropriate steps to attempt to control the situation and avoid the need for the use of force, but Lapp drawing his gun and pointing it at V1 eliminated many options that V1 may have otherwise had,” Sparr concluded.
“Looking solely at the facts as they would have been known to the officer, Lapp presented an extreme risk to the officer’s life, justifying the use of deadly force.”
What led to the Oshkosh Fleet Farm shooting?
Security camera footage from what is believed to be Fleet Farm shows a person believed to be Lapp entering the store just after 8 a.m. before going to the gun counter.
A redacted person is seen interacting with the person believed to be Lapp before the redacted person flees from behind the gun counter.
The man believed to be Lapp can be seen with an object in his hand as he goes behind the counter. He eventually leaves with an object in his hand while pushing a cart out of frame.
According to Sparr’s release, Lapp asked to see a handgun and then loaded the firearm with ammunition from his pocket.
The statement said an employee ran away from the counter after failing to get the gun away from Lapp. Lapp was said to have grabbed a different gun from the gun case.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Officer cleared in fatal Oshkosh Fleet Farm parking lot shooting
Reporting by Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern / Oshkosh Northwestern
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern | USA TODAY Network
