Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
On August 12, 2024. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call from a male at an apartment complex stating something similar to “we have a no-contact and he tried to break my neck” before the phone disconnected. The Fitchburg Police Department was dispatched to the scene. An officer identified a witness in the apartment complex who had observed an altercation occur between two subjects and had obtained a video which was shown to officers. The witness further stated that one of the subjects appeared disheveled and had called out for "help". Another officer was able to make contact with an unknown person by calling back the number associated with the 911 call from earlier. The unknown party stated that they were "fine" and did not request police assistance. The Officer advised that the person he had called and spoken with sounded odd and was not completely confident that the person they had reached was in fact "fine". While attempting to look through the windows to see if anyone was inside the apartment, Officer O'Dell advised that the position of the blinds affixed to one of the bedrooms had changed from when they were first looking in. That led officers to believe that someone was inside the apartment and may be intentionally avoiding contact with law enforcement. Officers began to make entry into the apartment, they found that the front door was unlocked but blocked from the inside by a large amount of property and the door could not be completely opened. Sgt. Johnston assisted by reaching into the apartment through the main entry door and around a corner to unlock the nearby French door. Once the French door was opened, officers began moving into the apartment, making announcements and identifying themselves. A male walked out from the hallway, he was escorted out of the house and informed officers that the man they were looking for (Kevin) was in the closet but did not state which room he was in. The male subject also stated that Kevin was armed with a knife. Officers began clearing the house and entered the bedroom located across the hall from the bathroom. They continued to give announcements identifying themselves as police officers and gave verbal commands for Kevin to show himself. Sgt. Johnston observed that the clothing in the closet that was hanging up started to shake and move. He then saw a hand emerge from a pile of clothing near the closet. Sgt. Johnson then saw unclothed arms emerge before the subject, Kevin, stood up holding a folding style knife in his right hand, with the blade folded in the 'closed' position. Officers gave Kevin verbal commands to drop the knife. Kevin did not comply and used his left hand to open the blade of the knife into the open position, with the tip of the blade pointed towards officers. Sgt. Johnston stated that he drew his department issued handgun out of its holster and had his firearm directed towards Kevin while ordering him to drop his weapon. Kevin began to move towards law enforcement. Sgt. Johnston stated that Kevin's behavior had met the requirements for deadly force. He stated that Kevin had a weapon (knife), had disobeyed verbal commands and unfolded the blade of the knife into the open position. He also stated that Kevin had a delivery system (began to move forwards towards officers). Sgt. Johnston stated that he feared for his life as well as Officer O'Dell's life. Sgt. Johnston stated that he was standing on top of the mattress of the bed and his footing was not solid. Sgt. Johnston stated that the only exit/escape route out of the bedroom was the door he had entered through. Sgt. Johnston stated that if he had attempted to exit the room through the only door, it would have required him to move closer to Kevin. Sgt. Johnston stated that he fired his handgun four times which caused Kevin to fall. Sgt. Johnston believed that one or more of the rounds he fired had struck Kevin. Sgt. Johnston stated that immediately after firing his handgun, he did not know where the knife had gone but knew that he needed to switch from protecting his own life and the lives of the other officers in the room, to attempting to save Kevin's life. Sgt. Johnston stated that he and Officer Dretske immediately grabbed Kevin's aims and began pulling him out of the area in front of the closet and out of the bedroom. They then moved Kevin outside to an area with more room to better provide aid to Kevin. At some point, Kevin was placed in handcuffs as he was fighting and moving around as officers were attempting to provide him aid. One Fitchburg police officer fired their duty handgun four times during the event. One less lethal projectile was also deployed during the incident. The event occurred within a bedroom of a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment and was witnessed by other Fitchburg police officers. On 08/15/2024, investigators learned that Kevin died as a result of the injuries sustained during the incident.
This video is for educational purposes only.
On August 12, 2024. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call from a male at an apartment complex stating something similar to “we have a no-contact and he tried to break my neck” before the phone disconnected. The Fitchburg Police Department was dispatched to the scene. An officer identified a witness in the apartment complex who had observed an altercation occur between two subjects and had obtained a video which was shown to officers. The witness further stated that one of the subjects appeared disheveled and had called out for "help". Another officer was able to make contact with an unknown person by calling back the number associated with the 911 call from earlier. The unknown party stated that they were "fine" and did not request police assistance. The Officer advised that the person he had called and spoken with sounded odd and was not completely confident that the person they had reached was in fact "fine". While attempting to look through the windows to see if anyone was inside the apartment, Officer O'Dell advised that the position of the blinds affixed to one of the bedrooms had changed from when they were first looking in. That led officers to believe that someone was inside the apartment and may be intentionally avoiding contact with law enforcement. Officers began to make entry into the apartment, they found that the front door was unlocked but blocked from the inside by a large amount of property and the door could not be completely opened. Sgt. Johnston assisted by reaching into the apartment through the main entry door and around a corner to unlock the nearby French door. Once the French door was opened, officers began moving into the apartment, making announcements and identifying themselves. A male walked out from the hallway, he was escorted out of the house and informed officers that the man they were looking for (Kevin) was in the closet but did not state which room he was in. The male subject also stated that Kevin was armed with a knife. Officers began clearing the house and entered the bedroom located across the hall from the bathroom. They continued to give announcements identifying themselves as police officers and gave verbal commands for Kevin to show himself. Sgt. Johnston observed that the clothing in the closet that was hanging up started to shake and move. He then saw a hand emerge from a pile of clothing near the closet. Sgt. Johnson then saw unclothed arms emerge before the subject, Kevin, stood up holding a folding style knife in his right hand, with the blade folded in the 'closed' position. Officers gave Kevin verbal commands to drop the knife. Kevin did not comply and used his left hand to open the blade of the knife into the open position, with the tip of the blade pointed towards officers. Sgt. Johnston stated that he drew his department issued handgun out of its holster and had his firearm directed towards Kevin while ordering him to drop his weapon. Kevin began to move towards law enforcement. Sgt. Johnston stated that Kevin's behavior had met the requirements for deadly force. He stated that Kevin had a weapon (knife), had disobeyed verbal commands and unfolded the blade of the knife into the open position. He also stated that Kevin had a delivery system (began to move forwards towards officers). Sgt. Johnston stated that he feared for his life as well as Officer O'Dell's life. Sgt. Johnston stated that he was standing on top of the mattress of the bed and his footing was not solid. Sgt. Johnston stated that the only exit/escape route out of the bedroom was the door he had entered through. Sgt. Johnston stated that if he had attempted to exit the room through the only door, it would have required him to move closer to Kevin. Sgt. Johnston stated that he fired his handgun four times which caused Kevin to fall. Sgt. Johnston believed that one or more of the rounds he fired had struck Kevin. Sgt. Johnston stated that immediately after firing his handgun, he did not know where the knife had gone but knew that he needed to switch from protecting his own life and the lives of the other officers in the room, to attempting to save Kevin's life. Sgt. Johnston stated that he and Officer Dretske immediately grabbed Kevin's aims and began pulling him out of the area in front of the closet and out of the bedroom. They then moved Kevin outside to an area with more room to better provide aid to Kevin. At some point, Kevin was placed in handcuffs as he was fighting and moving around as officers were attempting to provide him aid. One Fitchburg police officer fired their duty handgun four times during the event. One less lethal projectile was also deployed during the incident. The event occurred within a bedroom of a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment and was witnessed by other Fitchburg police officers. On 08/15/2024, investigators learned that Kevin died as a result of the injuries sustained during the incident.
This video is for educational purposes only.
