Three St. Croix county deputies on leave after killing a suspect over the weekend

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Three sheriff’s deputies in far western Wisconsin are on administrative leave, after they shot and killed a suspect at his home during the weekend. Saint Croix County officers went to Patrick McDonnell’s house near Baldwin on Saturday night, after a woman called 9-1-1 to say he was drunk, armed, and suicidal. Sheriff John Shilts said McDonnell ordered the woman and their two children out of the house, and he then fired a shot into the air. About two hours after deputies were called, Shilts said McDonnell emerged from the house with a rifle and two handguns – and he confronted deputies at the end of his driveway. The sheriff said McDonnell fired at least two shots at the officers, and he hit a squad car. The three deputies shot back, and McDonnell died at the scene. Shilts said the couple might have been preparing for a divorce – otherwise, he could not say what prompted the incident. Online court records did not show that a divorce case had been filed. The three deputies escaped injury. The incident, and the deputies’ roles, are being investigated by the state Justice Department and officers from nearby Pierce and Polk counties.

Tags: crime and courts, news, crime, wisconsin