GLENWOOD CITY, Wis. — Officials with the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office have released the name of the deputy fatally shot by a suspect near Glenwood City, Wisconsin Saturday night.
The department says 29-year-old Deputy Kaitie Leising was killed when she exchanged gunfire with a possibly impaired driver by the side of the road.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) first confirmed the incident Sunday morning, reporting that a deputy with the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department was shot while they were responding to a call and later died at the hospital.
Leising was dispatched around 6:15 p.m. Saturday on reports of a potential drunk driver stuck in a ditch near Glenwood City, Wisconsin. Upon arrival Deputy Leising located the driver of the vehicle and people in another vehicle that had stopped to help.
Officials say Leising requested that the individual, now identified as 34-year-old Jeremiah Johnson, take field sobriety tests before he returned to his vehicle.
According to officials, Johnson was evasive in responding to Leising's requests, and after eight minutes of dialogue turned toward the deputy and shot her. After she was shot, the deputy fired her weapon three times. None of the bullets hit Johnson as he fled to a nearby wooded area, according to the DCI.
The incident was captured on body camera, according to a release.
Bystanders who had originally stopped to help the suspect jumped in to perform lifesaving measures on Leising before she was taken to a local hospital.
Additional law enforcement swarmed to the scene and began searching through the woods to find Johnson. Officials said about an hour after Deputy Leising had been shot an officer spotted Johnson, heard a gunshot and saw him fall to the ground. A handgun was found near him.
The DCI said no law enforcement discharged their firearms during the search for Johnson.
There is no further threat to the community, officials said.
The investigation will be led by the DCI with assistance from other law enforcement agencies and will turn its findings over to the St. Croix County District Attorney.
On Sunday, tributes from the community and other law enforcement agencies poured in.
"Our love and condolences go out to the family of Kaitie Leising and all those with whom she served," said St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson in a released statement. "We, as a law enforcement family, will do everything possible to continue to provide support and comfort to her family. We will miss her infectious smile and personality. She will be missed by all she touched."
Leising previously worked as a deputy in Pennington County, South Dakota. Her former boss paid tribute to the work she did, and the person she was.
“Kaitlin was an outstanding law enforcement officer, positively impacting many in our county.” Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller continued, “Most importantly, she was an outstanding human being.”
A memorial fund has been set up to support Kaitie Leising's surviving wife and child. If you'd like to contribute send donations made out to "Benefit of Deputy Leising" to WESTconsin Credit Union, PO Box 269, New Richmond, WI 54017. Contributions can also be made in person at any WESTconsin Credit Union branch.
To protect donors from potential scammers, sheriff's officials currently do not have a link set up for online donations.
The Wisconsin Fraternal Order Police also reacted to the news of Deputy Leising's death in the line of duty.
Other departments posted condolences online including the Minneapolis Police Department, which included pictures of the massive police procession that accompanied the deputy's body as it was transported to the medical examiner's office in St. Paul early on Sunday morning.
On Sunday afternoon, a law enforcement procession took Deputy Leising's body from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office to O'Connell Family Funeral Homes in Baldwin, Wisconsin.
A large crowd gathered on the 11th Street Bridge in Hudson to show their support for the fallen deputy and her fellow officers as the procession passed by.
"Sad, little heartbroken," said Trina Hilke, who came out to the bridge over I-94 with her 8-year-old son, Micah. "My uncle, his godfather, is a police chief in Illinois and I just imagine any day something like this could happen to him."
Kayla Raab of Hudson can relate. Her husband, Nate Raab, serves in the military and is a firefighter with the Hudson Fire Department. Sunday, fire trucks lined the bridge with American flags raised in the air.
"Anytime he puts on that uniform, you don't know. It's hard." Kayla said.
The couple brought their kids out for the procession to take in what had happened. "It's teaching them that this is important and we shouldn't take this for granted," Kayla said.
At the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office people stopped by all day to place flowers and other remembrances on Deputy Leising's squad car.
"We're a family," said Mike Bondarenko, who spent 30 years with the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office. "Even though I've been out of the family for a while, it's still a family and we all love and support each other."
As Hilke watched the procession go by with her son, she said did her best to explain why all the squads were there together. "Remember how we talked about the brotherhood? She had a lot of brothers and sisters."
"Are these all of her siblings?" Micah asked.
"These are all of her police siblings. Her sheriff siblings," she explained.
This is a developing story and KARE 11 will add more details as they are made available.
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