The officers that were involved in the shooting incident at the Valley Transit Center a month ago have been cleared of any wrongdoing. The Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis revealed this information yesterday afternoon, saying that the officers were justified in their use of deadly force. She also revealed more information about the incident.
She reported that 47 year old Ruben Houston of Wausau was seen sleeping and snoring loudly on a bus that eventually stopped at the Valley Transit Center. The man did not get up with the rest of the passengers and medical personnel were called. They determined that he had suffered an overdose and revived him using Narcan. Houston became more agitated as the officers and EMS personnel refused to let him return to Wausau, and he eventually pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, shooting and killing Firefighter Mitchell Lundgaard and injuring Officer Paul Christensen.
A bystander, 30 year old Brittany Schowalter of Appleton, was shot in the head and leg suffering a traumatic brain injury. Tempelis stated that Schowalter was likely shot by police, but the tests done on the bullets were inconclusive. Houston eventually died from his injuries at the scene.
A pair of officers were placed on administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard when a service weapon is fired. The Green Bay Police Department investigated the incident, and said that bodY camera footage was instrumental.
