Whether or not shootings by police are justified has been a common refrain in the news this year. Rarely, however, have these stories involved an officer being confronted with a pitchfork.
The Madison Police Department officer who shot and killed a man wielding a pitchfork June 30 will not be criminally liable, according to a press release from Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne Tuesday.
“In this incident, the officer was faced with a subject who had broken into a residence, armed himself with a pitchfork, and was not responding to commands as he advanced upon the officer,” Ozanne said in the release. “Responding to that threat with deadly force is permitted under the law.”
Officers responded to multiple 911 calls June 30 concerning a disturbance at 1303 Morrison St. Initial information indicated a man had entered the residence by breaking a window with a rock.
When the first officer arrived, the homeowner gave him permission to enter the residence. While waiting for other patrol units to arrive, the officer shouted “police department, show yourself,” but received no response.
The officer stated that he then saw a pitchfork rising up from behind an interior wall. The man with the pitchfork, Michael Schumacher, approached the officer, holding it “like a spear would be held.”
Schumacher began angrily yelling, according to the release, and the officer took a step back from him. Schumacher came at the officer quickly, and the officer stated he “feared for his safety” and worried that the pitchfork could kill him. The officer fired his rifle at Schumacher, hitting him with two rounds. Schumacher was pronounced dead after lifesaving measures were attempted.
After Schumacher’s family was notified, they confirmed that he had a history of mental illness.
“This is the 15th Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) which I have had to make a decision in over the past 6 years,” Ozanne said in the release. “In these OIS incidents, mental health issues have been present in far too many of them.”
Ozanne said proactive steps are being taken to ensure MPD is better prepared in the future for interactions with those who have mental illnesses.
