No charges for Racine Police officers involved in fatal shooting of Timothy Burgess

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Racine Police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Timothy Burgess on May 22, 2023 will not face criminal charges, the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced Monday.

Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson issued the decision.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, a routine Racine County traffic stop turned into a fatal-police shooting,

Mount Pleasant Police officers received a call for shots fired during the late evening hours on Sunday, May 21, Wisconsin DOJ officials said, noting that a couple of hours later, City of Racine Police officers initiated a traffic stop in the City of Racine, Wis.

Wisconsin DOJ says, the driver exited the vehicle, fled on foot and hid in some tall grass on the 1800 block of Clayton Avenue in Racine, Wis.

At approximately 12:29 a.m. on Monday, May 22, 2023, officers gave commands for the subject to come out, but the subject refused to follow officer orders, Wisconsin DOJ said.

As officers approached the subject, the subject began firing towards officers who then exchanged gunfire and struck the subject. The subject was pronounced deceased at the scene, authorities said.

No law enforcement officers were injured in this incident, according to officials.

The involved officers from the Racine Police Department and Mount Pleasant Police Department had been been placed on administrative assignment, per department policy.

Pursuant to Wisconsin Statute § 175.47, in the event of the death of an individual that results directly from an action or an omission of a law enforcement officer, the ensuing investigation must be conducted by an investigative team from an independent law enforcement agency.

If requested, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) may serve as that independent agency. In those instances, DOJ/DCI will provide a complete report to the prosecutor for review. If the prosecutor determines there is no basis for prosecution of the law enforcement officer(s) involved, access to the report as required by Wis. Stat. § 175.47(5)(b) are provided to the general public, officials said.