Charges will not be filed in a police-involved shooting death in De Pere earlier this year.
In a statement, Assistant Brown County District Attorney J. Foss Davis says the De Pere Police Officers who shot and killed 44-year-old Scott McDonald back in July at a boat launch acted in self-defense after McDonald pointed a gun at law enforcement.
Davis says he found no evidence to suggest that any officers who fired their weapons in the matter engaged in criminal conduct.
Although the shooting led to McDonald’s death, officers were “privileged to utilize the deadly force against him.”
De Pere Police were called to the Perkowski Boat Launch back on July 26th at 1:00 a.m. for a report of an armed individual, later identified as McDonald.
His wife also called 911, telling dispatch that he was expressing thoughts of self-harm.
Three De Pere officers made contact with McDonald, who quickly became verbally aggressive, yelling at them to “get back.”
He would then fire a shot into the air before officers asked for additional backup.
Police talked with McDonald, asking him to drop his rifle and to, with one officer getting very limited communication from the suspect at the time.
The 44-year-old then made comments along the lines of “hit me and make this painless” and “get better cover” before pointing his rifle at a group of police near a building.
Eighteen rounds from six different officers were fired, with some hitting McDonald. Life-saving efforts were attempted, but the suspect died at the scene.
Attorney Foss concluded that the circumstances of the case warranted the use of deadly force.
