Winnebago County District Attorney Eric Sparr says no charges for officers in death of Lawrence Drennan

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Winnebago County District Attorney Eric Sparr announced last week there will be no criminal charges for police officers regarding the death of Lawrence Drennan.

The incident occurred on February 2, 2024, in the Town of Nekimi, Wis.

Officers with the North Fond du Lac Police department stopped Drennan’s vehicle in February. Drennan allegedly drove away before the traffic stop was concluded.

Police said after discovering an open container of alcohol, they asked Drennan to exit the vehicle. Drennan subsequently drove off.

Police then radioed for assistance from other agencies and deployed spike stripes. During the hot pursuit, Drennan called 911 and told authorities he had a gun. “If they stop me, I got a gun in here and I’ll start shooting,” he said.

A tire deflation device deployed by another law enforcement agency eventually forced Drennan’s vehicle to stop after crashing into a fence.

Drennan then exited the vehicle refusing to obey law enforcement orders. Based on the 911 call with threats, not being able to see Drenan’s right hand, failure to obey orders, and fear for the officers’ lives, officers fatally shot Drennan.

According to District Attorney Sparr’s report, obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, “Officers were in a very difficult situation by a suicidal person.”

“Deciding precisely how much risk to his or her own personal safety an officer is required to take on before using potentially lethal force to neutralize
a threat is not an easy exercise,” he added.