OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY SHEBOYGAN COUNTY Joe DeCecco District Attorney
615 North 6th Street Sheboygan, WI 53081-4692
Telephone (920) 459-3040 Fax (920) 459-4383
Deputy District Attorney James P. Van Akkeren
Assistant District Attorneys •Jennifer A. Bork •James A. Haasch •Nathan Haberman •Christopher W. Stock •Joel Urmanski •Mary T. Wagner
DISTRICT ATTORNEY OPINION Fatal Shooting of James L. Knee, DOB 1/25/58 September 3, 2010 Officer Brandon Munnik, Sheboygan Police Department On September 3, 2010, at about 1:25 a.m., Officer Brandon Munnik of the Sheboygan Police Department fatally shot James L. Knee, DOB 1/25/58, during a traffic stop. The Sheboygan Police Department requested this office to review the shooting to determine if the shooting was legally justified. In the course of this process, I have reviewed the following: • • • • • • •
Multiple police reports including witnesses and officer statements written and/or recorded Photographs of the scene including fields of vision of witnesses Police radio (dispatch) communications Diagrams constructed of the scene reflecting measurements and location of vehicles and buildings and other evidentiary evidence Sheboygan Police Department policy on use of deadly force Preliminary autopsy report Squad video of the traffic stop and shooting
WITNESS STATEMENTS Officer Brandon Munnik Officer Brandon Munnik, a seven year veteran of the Sheboygan Police Department, was interviewed by Detective Cameron Stewart with Officer Kent Huibregtse present in the morning of September 4, 2010. Officer Munnik stated he was parked in his marked police squad facing west in the 1900 block of Kohler Memorial Drive running stationary radar when he observed a red Pontiac traveling eastbound at 54 MPH by radar in a
posted 25 MPH limit zone. The officer turned to pursue and drove over the center median and began traveling eastbound in an effort to close the distance between his squad and the speeding Pontiac. The squad’s emergency lights and siren were not activated, probably in an attempt to close the distance without the driver of the speeding vehicle knowing a squad was following so that the chance of an extended and high speed pursuit would be lessened. Officer Munnik followed the taillights of the speeding vehicle and noted that the vehicle had turned left (north) onto N. 17th Street and then right (east) onto Michigan Avenue where it slowed and pulled over to the curb, at which point Officer Munnik activated his emergency lights, pulling in a short distance behind it (subsequently measured at about 20’). Officer Munnik activated the squad’s external spotlight, training it on the driver and sole occupant of the Pontiac. Before Officer Munnik could call in his location or attach his body microphone, he saw the driver open the door and exit the vehicle. Officer Munnik immediately exited his squad and ordered the male to get back in the Pontiac, but the male continued to walk toward the officer. The officer saw that the male had his right hand behind his back in a way that the officer could not see if that hand was holding anything. Officer Munnik yelled at the subject several times to show that hand to the officer, but the suspect did not comply. Officer Munnik used his Taser on the subject, which resulted in the subject “buckling” slightly but not dropping down to the ground, but did cause the subject’s right hand holding a silver handgun to come into the officer’s view. Officer Munnik stated he immediately drew his firearm while shouting “drop the gun” at the suspect several times. While doing this, the officer said he was moving toward the rear of the Pontiac to try to get into a spot which would afford the officer some cover and to increase his distance from the suspect. Officer Munnik said he observed the suspect “square up” to the officer (turn to face the officer) and begin to swing the hand that held the silver gun toward the officer. Officer Munnik stated he fired twice in rapid succession and the subject fell to the roadway. Officer Munnik kicked the silver gun away from the subject, backed up to maintain cover on the subject, and radioed for assistance. Officer Munnik stated the actions of the subject in refusing to return to the Pontiac, to continue to approach the officer with that hand hidden from the officer’s view, gave the officer great fear as to what the subject was going to do. The officer stated that the subject’s verbal responses to the commands to return to the vehicle and to show the hidden hand to the officer were along the lines of “make me” or other such type of aggressive/defiant talk. Officer Munnik expressed surprise that the Taser did not fully incapacitate the subject, and that the subject continued to hold onto the gun while Tased and while being ordered by the officer to drop the gun, even though the officer was ready to fire. Officer Munnik stated his belief that “this was it. I thought for sure he was going to shoot me.” Stephanie M.W., DOB 4/6/93 Seventeen year old Stephanie M.W. was staying in the upper residence in the upper/lower two family building located at 1629/1631 Michigan Avenue. She stated the bedroom she was using faced Michigan Avenue and she noticed the blue and red flashing lights of an emergency vehicle lighting up her room’s walls. She stated she went to the closed window and saw a police car stopped behind a red vehicle. Stephanie said she saw the driver of the red vehicle get out of the car and walk toward the police officer. She said the man had his right hand behind his back and she could clearly see what she thought was a silver handgun in that hand. Stephanie stated she heard the officer yell at the man to stop and then use a taser on the man. She said the man brought his gun hand from behind his back and heard the officer yell several times for him to drop the gun. Stephanie said she then heard two or three shots and saw the driver fall down on the street with the officer approaching the man and kicking the man’s gun away. Stephanie said she heard the officer say “shots fired”
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over his radio. [The red Pontiac was parked almost directly in front of 1631 Michigan Avenue on the same side of the road as the residence.]. Alicia M.F., DOB 3/17/92 Alicia resides at 1631 Michigan Avenue in the upper residence. She stated she was sitting in the living room when she noticed red and blue lights reflecting on her apartment walls. She did not go to a window, but heard a man shouting, “Show me your hands” twice. She stated she heard the same voice then shout “Drop the gun” three times followed by two gun shots. She then went to the window and saw the police squad parked behind a red car and a police officer and a man lying in the street with the officer yelling into his radio “Shots fired”. [The red Pontiac was parked almost directly in front of 1631 Michigan Avenue on the same side of the road as the residence].
Maria J.C., DOB 10/20/96 Thirteen year old Maria J.C. resides in the upper apartment at 1625 Michigan Avenue. Maria stated she was about to go to bed when she heard shouting outside and went to her bedroom window to peek through the blinds. Maria stated she saw a police car with its emergency lights on and a man getting out of a parked red car. She said she saw the man walk away from the car holding something in his hand. Maria heard the officer shout something like “Put the gun down”, at which point she said she became frightened and jumped into her bed pulling the covers over her head, at which point she heard two gun shots. [1625 Michigan Avenue is located next door to the east of 1631 Michigan Avenue]. Police canvassed the neighborhood and questioned local residents as well persons who had gathered due to the responding police cars to the area, and while some heard shouts of “Drop the gun” or other yelling, or even heard the gun shots, no one else stated they had observed what had actually happened.
SHEBOYGAN POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY ON USE OF DEADLY FORCE [Sheboygan Police Department Directive Updated 4/3/06] Pursuant to Department policy, “deadly force” is “the intentional use of a firearm or other instrument which would result in a high probability of death.” Sheboygan police officers are permitted to use “deadly force” only in defense of themselves when they have a “reasonable belief they are in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm”, as in this case, or in defense of another whom the officer has reasonable belief to be in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. That policy also allows officers to draw their firearms “without justification for the immediate use of deadly force if they reasonably believe circumstances indicate a risk of death or great bodily harm,” with examples in the Directive citing stopping a vehicle which contains a felony suspect, responding to a felony crime in progress, or investigating an open door in a closed business. I find that, on its face, this policy is reasonable and appropriate. It should be noted at this point that Tasers and O.C. Spray share the same category of Less-Than-Lethal Weapons, and are designed and used mainly for control of unruly suspects, and are certainly not intended as a defense against someone engaging in imminent life threatening behavior against the officer or another. Neither Department policy nor common sense require any officer to employ the least lethal weapon at his/her disposal before moving up to a more lethal weapon. Rather, the policy requires officers to use the appropriate force for the particular situation, with deadly force reserved for situations similar to this incident.
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In this case, Officer Munnik did use his Taser before he became aware that Knee possessed a handgun. That action resulted in briefly incapacitating Knee, revealing the handgun to the officer and giving the officer a second or two to draw his firearm, distance himself from Knee, and move to a place providing partial cover should Knee have fired. PRELIMINARY AUTOPSY RESULTS An autopsy was performed on James Knee on September 3, 2010 by Dr. Doug Kelley, the Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner. Dr. Kelley noted that Knee died from a gunshot wound to his chest. Dr. Kelley determined the bullet entered near Knee’s left medial 5th rib, traveled through the heart and pericardial sac through the liver, and spleen, causing massive internal damage. A copper jacketed bullet was recovered from the body. Dr. Kelley also noted that Knee had a bullet entrance wound to his right 2nd finger with an exit wound on the right palm, and that Knee’s 3rd right finger had a laceration from a bullet striking roughly between those two fingers. The recovered semi-automatic silver handgun supports Dr. Kelley’s conclusions concerning his examination of the hand as the grip bore evidence of being struck by a bullet, denting the handle and damaging the loaded magazine it contained, as well as shattering the plastic which had covered the grip, multiple pieces of which were located in the street by police. A spent copper jacketed bullet was located in the street as were two ejected casings.
SQUAD DASH CAMERA VIDEO The squad dash video begins as Officer Munnik crosses over the Erie Avenue median to proceed eastbound. The squad makes a left (north) turn onto N. 17th Street and then right (east) onto Michigan Avenue. The taillights of the suspect vehicle can be seen in the distance as the squad makes the turn onto N. 17th Street and can be seen turning to the right (onto Michigan). In the middle of the squad’s turn onto Michigan Avenue, the emergency lights are activated which activates the sound recording. The Pontiac is already stopped at the south curb. The squad’s spotlight illuminates the back of the Pontiac driver’s head, with the driver staying seated for about four seconds and then exiting the car walking back toward the officer who has yet to appear on screen. Although Officer Munnik did not get his body microphone attached prior to exiting the squad, the squad’s inside microphone does record some of the officer’s statements to Knee. Knee is obviously speaking, but is too far from the interior mike for his words to be recorded. Officer Munnik can be heard telling Knee to get back in his vehicle, which command Knee ignores and continues to walk toward the officer. Knee, from the moment he exited his car, has his right hand behind his back. Officer Munnik, who now is in the video recording, tells Knee to show his hand to him and, as Knee gets closer to the officer, yells at him to show his hand. Knee stops about a foot from the officer who backs away another foot or two, draws his Taser and shoots Knee with the Taser. Knee immediately bends forward staggering but not going down with his right hand coming out from behind his back with the gun in it. Officer Munnik immediately draws his firearm and moves across the video screen to the right, yelling “Drop the gun” several times, eventually getting to the right rear of the Pontiac. The taut wires of the Taser are reflected in the squad’s spotlight. Knee is seen trying to dislodge the Taser wires and is successful as the Taser wires suddenly drop from the spotlight. Knee, whose staggering has brought him close to the extreme left side of the camera view and is partially out of view, turns towards the officer “squaring up”. Officer Munnik fires two shots in
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quick succession, still yelling “drop the gun” and Knee falls to the street, out of the camera’s view except for his legs. Officer Munnik, still covering Knee with his firearm, rushes over to Knee to kick Knee’s firearm out of Knee’s reach. The officer returns to a position almost in the middle of the screen and, still covering Knee with his firearm, radios “Shots fired” and remains in that cover position until other officers arrive. The elapsed time from when Knee exits his vehicle until Officer Munnik fires is only 20 seconds. CONCLUSION The evidence clearly establishes that Officer Munnik’s use of deadly force was justifiable. The circumstances of the traffic stop as evidenced by witness statements, the squad’s recording of the incident and Officer Munnik’s own account of the sequence of events clearly show that Officer Munnik’s belief that his life and well-being were in imminent and deadly danger was reasonable and that the shooting of Knee was necessary to end that threat. Mr. Knee chose to speed through residential areas of this city. Mr. Knee chose to exit his vehicle carrying a semi-automatic handgun in his right hand and to hide that hand behind his body. Mr. Knee chose to ignore the repeated loud commands of Officer Munnik to get back into his vehicle, to show his concealed hand to the officer, to drop the firearm. When Knee, having been Tasered which revealed the handgun in his right hand, refused to drop the firearm as repeatedly ordered to do by the officer, pulled out the Taser wires and “squared up” with the officer, swinging/raising his firearm toward the officer, Officer Munnik had no choice but to fire. Contrary to television shows and movies, real police officers are very reluctant to draw their firearms, much less fire them, but they must be prepared to do just that to protect themselves and others should the need arise, even if the incident begins as a common and usually uneventful “ordinary” traffic stop, as in this case. While the squad dash camera recording is graphic and unsettling, it gives us a unique insight into the world of split-second decision making done by the law enforcement professionals we entrust to protect us. This particular incident went from a “routine” speeding traffic stop to a deadly force situation in 20 seconds. Officer Munnik’s professionalism and adherence to department policy were the result not only of his training and experience but also reflect his character and dedication to a profession that few citizens fully understand. DATED THIS 13th DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2010
Joe DeCecco District Attorney Sheboygan County
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