Today Barron County Sheriff, Chris Fitzgerald and Chief Roux offered the following in reference to the clearing of a deputy and officers from the officer involved critical incident in Oct. Their press release is below:
Press Release from our Chief Roux and myself ref the clearing of our deputy and officers from the officer involved critical incident in Oct.
Today, an independent administrative use of force review panel convened to evaluate the actions of our officers/deputy involved in the critical incident from October 8, 2023 at the Riverside Arms apartment complex in the City of Rice Lake. This panel is made up of various law enforcement professionals such
as firearms instructors, internal and external law enforcement executives/supervisors/officers.
This review is necessary, and required by each of our departments in the event the use of force by our
members results in a serious injury or death to another person. Its purpose is to ensure our
officers/deputy followed policy. In addition to this review, on Monday November 6, 2023 the Barron
County District Attorney released his findings based on his review of the criminal investigation that was
completed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The Barron
County District Attorney determined that the use of deadly force by all involved officers/deputy was
legally justified and reasonable to protect themselves and other citizens/residents of the complex.
The outcome from today’s use of force review panel was that all of the officer’s/deputy’s actions were
within department policy and procedures. Therefore, all officers/deputy are cleared from paid
administrative leave/duty and they will return to full duty. The names of the officers/deputies are not
being released for their protection because of a substantiated threat to their lives.
