News Flash

Prepared By:  Deputy Chief Matthew Laha

Around 8:00 a.m. this morning, Fitchburg police officers responded to a residence on the 800 block of Whispering Pines Way for a 911 call reporting a physical disturbance.

While on the scene, the officers were approached by a witness who reported a physical altercation between two individuals. The witness directed the officers to the residence, where the two individuals entered.

The officers entered the residence after confirming the ongoing altercation.

While searching the residence, officers encountered a man armed with a knife. The armed man approached officers after refusing repeated commands to drop the knife. One of the officer fired their duty weapon, striking the man.

Officers rendered medical aid to the man until paramedics arrived on scene and transported him to a hospital. He is a 28 year-old resident of Fitchburg and is currently in critical condition.

The victim in the original incident, which appears to involve a domestic relationship, received minor injuries that did not require medical attention.

The officers involved reported no injuries.

The officer involved is a sergeant with the Fitchburg Police Department with 14 years of experience. He has been placed on administrative duties, per standard protocol, pending further investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation (D.C.I.) is leading the officer-involved shooting investigation at the request of the Fitchburg Police Department. The Fitchburg Police Department will continue the investigation into the original domestic abuse incident.

Any inquiries regarding the officer-involved shooting investigation should be directed to D.C.I.

We want to thank D.C.I. and Wisconsin State Patrol for their assistance in this investigation as well as the Dane County Sheriff's Office.