The Chippewa County District Attorney’s Office has determined that the actions of Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Martin Folczyk on October 8, 2021, during a traffic stop in the Town of Goetz, Chippewa County, Wisconsin, was a reasonable act of self- defense. Wisconsin law allows all persons, including police officers, to use deadly force in an act of self-defense. The law requires all of the following:
-The officer believed that there was an actual or imminent unlawful interference with the
Officer’s person; and
-The officer believed that the amount of force the officer used or threatened to use was
necessary to prevent or terminate the interference; and
-The officer’s beliefs were reasonable.
The officer may intentionally use force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if the officer reasonably believed that the force used was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself. There is also no duty to retreat; However, in determining whether the officer reasonably believed the amount of force used was necessary to prevent or terminate the interference, the law allows consideration as to whether the officer had the opportunity to retreat.
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