By Chris Spangler
Contributor
No charges will be filed against three Wisconsin State Patrol troopers in connection with the fatal shooting of a man who led authorities on a high-speed pursuit that ended outside Fort Atkinson in December.
Jefferson County District Attorney Monica J. Hall announced Tuesday that there will be no criminal charges in connection with the Dec. 9, 2020, death of Joseph R. Crawford-Lamal, 23.
Hall stated in a news release that due to a Wisconsin law that “allows all persons, including police officers, to use deadly force in an act of self-defense or defense of others if the person reasonably believed that he or another person face an unlawful interference that created a risk of death or great bodily harm,” the state troopers will not receive any criminal charges.
“If, as here, the person’s actions are privileged under the law of self-defense/defense of others, they cannot be convicted of any crime,” Hall wrote.
She added that she believes that the law enforcement officers’ actions were “lawful and reasonable acts of defense of self and others.”
According to the state Department of Justice, Crawford-Lamal, a suspect in a bank robbery in Monona on Dec. 9, 2020, led troopers on a high-speed chase that at times reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.
It started when Trooper Cody Rahn conducted a traffic stop about 12:30 p.m. on a 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue on State Highway 26 and Ebenezer Road, just south of Watertown.
He did not know that the two men in the vehicle were suspects in the Monona bank robbery when he tried to stop them for traveling 83 mph in a 65-mph zone between Watertown and Johnson Creek, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
As he attempted to gather the registered owner’s information from his computer, the vehicle sped off at a high rate of speed, traveling south on Highway 26.
The vehicle slowed after hitting tire-deflation spike strips placed by state troopers. The front passenger, Desmond Watkins, 22, exited the vehicle with his hands up and was taken into custody.
Crawford-Lamal, meanwhile, sped away in the vehicle, despite its shredded tires.
While southbound on Highway 26, just beneath the Interstate 94 overpass, Crawford-Lamal reportedly pointed a black semi-automatic handgun out of the driver’s window and fired a shot back toward the troopers attempting to stop his vehicle.
At County Highway B, he shot at a trooper and then continued south on Highway 26, exiting on the Business 26 off-ramp. The vehicle then got back onto the ramp to access Highway 26 once again and pointed the handgun in Trooper Rahn’s direction.
The DOJ report stated that Crawford-Lamal’s vehicle exited Highway 26 at the State Highway 89 off-ramp but then got back onto the ramp leading up to Highway 26. It continued south until exiting at the U.S. Highway 12 off-ramp in the Town of Koshkonong, on Fort Atkinson’s west side.
“The vehicle crashed onto a median as it attempted to travel westbound on Highway 12,” the DOJ report reads. “The driver exited the vehicle and pointed a semi-automatic handgun at an angle away from his body toward the ground. The driver walked westbound toward an SUV and pointed the gun at the driver of the SUV.”
The SUV’s civilian motorist later said Crawford-Lamal had held a gun to his head, Channel 3000 reported.
WKOW-TV reported that the suspect was pointing the gun at officers and the driver of the SUV before trying to open the doors of the SUV. He was shot after he turned away from the SUV and fell to the ground.
Three state patrol troopers discharged their weapons and at least one bullet struck Crawford-Lamal. The investigation found he was shot seven times, all coming before he fell to the ground, according to WKOW.
Officers began life-saving measures, but Crawford-Lamal died at the scene.
The Division of Criminal Investigation led the investigation into officer conduct and was assisted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory and the DOJ Office of Crime Victim Services.
Reports, audio recordings and video evidence from the DCI, Wisconsin State Patrol, Fort Atkinson Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office were provided to Hall’s office for review, the district attorney reportedly said.
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