STEVENS POINT − Portage County District Attorney Cass Cousins, after reviewing police reports, has decided a police shooting July 6 was justified.
On the evening of July 6, a caller asked for deputies to do a welfare check on a 35-year-old man. When they arrived at the home on Krogwold Road in the Portage County town of New Hope, they found a 53-year-old man shot to death in the driveway, according to a news release from the Portage County District Attorney’s Office.
Deputies were told that a woman and two child were inside the home. The woman, 52, later was found shot to death inside the garage, according to the news release.
The victims of the shooting were later identified as Dale S. Shulfer, 53, and Paula L. Shulfer, 52.
Deputies surrounded the home, which was a farmhouse surrounded by woods and fields. It was dark outside at that point, according to the news release. A 13-year veteran of the Portage County Sheriff’s Office circled around the east side of the home and heard movement on the east side of the property. The deputy confirmed no other officers were in the area.
The deputy used his flashlight to light up the area where the unknown person was located. The person held a pistol in one hand and an object that appeared to be a second pistol in the other, according to the news release. The person was facing in the deputy’s general direction.
The deputy immediately yelled, “Sheriff’s Office, show me your hands!” The person turned more toward the deputy and the hand holding the pistol began rising, according to the news release. The person was moving toward a position where the pistol could be aimed and fired, according to the news release. The deputy fired his rifle three times and the man fell to the ground and said, “I’m done, I’m done. … I’m done, man You got me.”
The man was identified as the 35-year-old man they had been asked to do a welfare check on, according to the news release Officers found two pistols about 1-2 feet from the man. A third pistol also was found near the man’s body, according to the news release.
Emergency services transported the man the deputy shot to the hospital, and he received medical care for three gunshot wounds. He remained in the hospital the morning of July 22, according to the news release. He is conscious and expected to survive and recover from his injuries.
The Stevens Point Journal is not naming the 35-year-old man because he has not yet been charged in the shootings.
The man admitted to investigators that he shot both victims and that he was in possession of a pistol when the deputy shot him, according to the news release.
The district attorney is responsible for reviewing officer-involved shootings for wrongdoing on the part of law enforcement in its use of force. Cousins said in the news release that he reviewed the reports from the incident, which has been “thoroughly and comprehensively investigated by the Marathon County and Wood County Sheriff’s Office.” The review included police reports, medical records, recorded statements, review of all relevant body-worn camera footage, photos, a scene review and consultation with investigators, according to the news release.
“In actuality, the actions of the deputy involved in this (officer-involved shooting) incident showed tremendous bravery, quick thinking and restraint,” Cousins said.
Contact Karen Madden kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Portage County DA finds July 6 police shooting justified; suspect remains hospitalized
Reporting by Karen Madden, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
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