Family sues Madison officer over fatal shooting (UPDATE)

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By DINESH RAMDE
Associated Press

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Madison police officer used excessive and unnecessary force when he shot and killed an unarmed man last year, the man’s family contends in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

Officer Stephen Heimsness confronted Paul Heenan on the sidewalk in November after the 30-year-old musician, who’d been out drinking that night, walked into a neighbor’s home. Heimsness could have defused the situation with a number of reasonable options, including pepper spray, a baton or stun gun, but instead he chose the most lethal option he had — his 9 mm Glock handgun, the family says.

The police department and Dane County district attorney both investigated the shooting and concluded that Heimsness acted appropriately, but Heenan’s family has disputed the officer’s version of events. Heimsness said he fired because Heenan was reaching for the officer’s gun, but Heenan’s family says Heenan was too intoxicated to be aggressive, and that he could have been subdued with minimal effort.

In addition to Heimsness, the lawsuit names Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and the City of Madison as defendants, alleging that the police department turned a blind eye to Heimsness’s history of violence and brutality.

Jim Palmer, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, said multiple agencies have cleared Heimsness and he’d be content to let the record and the facts speak for themselves.

Madison city attorney Michael May declined to comment, saying he hadn’t seen the lawsuit. Wray did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

The lawsuit says Heenan drank so much at a neighborhood bar that night that the bar owner insisted on driving him home. Instead of going into his own house, Heenan walked into someone else’s, startling the homeowner. The neighbor recognized Heenan and began walking him home while the man’s wife, unaware of what was happening, called 911 as a precaution.

Heimsness responded to the 911 call and found Heenan and the neighbor scuffling. Heimsness immediately pulled his gun and ordered Heenan down, according to the lawsuit. The neighbor backed away, telling the officer that Heenan was just a neighbor.

Heenan stumbled toward the officer, flailing and swatting at him. Heimsness gave Heenan a weak shove and Heenan staggered backward, the family contends. Heimsness then fired three shots into Heenan’s chest.

The family says Heimsness easily could have disabled Heenan through force or with a stun gun. And instead of shooting him once in the leg or arm, Heimsness shot Heenan three times in the chest. The family is seeking unspecified monetary and punitive damages.

After the Madison police investigation cleared Heimsness, Wray filed a lengthy complaint with Madison’s Police and Fire Commission alleging that Heimsness violated other departmental conduct rules in the months before the shooting. The allegations included using insulting, defamatory or obscene language in computer messages to other officers, disrespecting his supervisors, and failing to take proper care while handling weapons.

Heimsness has since resigned effective Nov. 23.