APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The two Appleton police officers who fatally shot a man during a standoff last month will not face criminal charges.
Officers Bryce Rudebeck and Tony Shuman shot Daniel Pesavento in his N. Birchwood Avenue driveway Aug. 12. Pesavento, 29, was taken to the hospital, where he died.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice investigated the shooting. The results were forwarded to Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis, who announced her ruling Tuesday afternoon.
The investigative reports say Pesavento’s wife came home to find he had been drinking while taking care of their child. She said she wanted a divorce; in response “his emotions eventually turned from sad to angry,” according to the report.
Pesavento spent several hours with a gun making suicidal comments, his wife told investigators. At one point, the wife texted her mother, who called 911. Before police arrived, Pesavento’s wife heard a gunshot. Fearful he had shot himself, she then called 911 herself.
Police arrived around 7:30 p.m. and got Pesavento’s wife and child out of the house. The report says, and witness video shows, Pesavento paced between the driveway and garage, holding a gun. As police tried to negotiate with him, Tempelis’ report says he made comments such as “kill me,” “let’s get this over with” and “come on.”
Just after 8 p.m., the report says one officer felt Pesavento was becoming agitated, clenching his hand into a fist and tensing his muscles. The officer believed Pesavento turned toward him and raised his gun. Fearing for his and his fellow officers’ lives, the officer tried to fire his gun, but it malfunctioned.
At the same time, the report says Rudebeck “became fearful for the safety of his life, his fellow officers’ lives, and the public’s lives.” He then “took the safety off his rifle and fired multiple rounds, which he believed was approximately five (5) at Pesavento to stop the threat.”
Shuman fired one shot just after hearing Rudebeck fire his gun.
Witness video released by DOJ appeared to show Pesavento raising the gun to his own head just before being shot.
Autopsy results showed Pesavento was shot four times in the torso and extremities.
In deciding not to file charges, Tempelis wrote:
It was also reasonable for Officer Rudebeck and Officer Shuman to believe Mr. Pesavento had the intent and the means to inflict death or great bodily harm to Officer Rudebeck and Officer Shuman and other officers and citizens in the area and that the force used was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or others.
Appleton police said their thoughts were with Pesavento’s friends and family. Chief Todd Thomas said in a statement: “This type of incident is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable calls that a police officer responds to, a person who is in a mental health crisis, who has a firearm and has demonstrated that they are willing to use it. I want to thank all the officers who were present who did everything they possibly could to peacefully resolve this incident.”
The department says it will convene a use of force review board to evaluate policy and training compliance in the wake of the shooting.
Rudebeck and Shuman, who had been on administrative leave since the shooting, have been returned to active duty.
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