Summary

Supers/Fonts: Duke Lang | Somerset

Alex Bakken | Glenwood City

Becky Brock | Woodville

Story Location: Baldwin

State/Province: Wisconsin

Shot Date: 05/07/2023

URL: https://wwwcbsnewscom/minnesota/news/western-wisconsin-police-officer-shooting-st-croix-county/

Notes and Restrictions:

Newsource Notes:

Story Description:
Elements:
DNT: vo of body covered in flag (not in casket) wheeled into funeral home to surrounded by crowd of saluting officersvo of procession on the highwayppl lining the street with flagssots with ppl along routevo of scene, flowers and momentos left, tire tracksnight vo of scene with squads blocking roadsot with this officer along with two others in the area recently killedvo of woman with her children at processionofficers walking to funeral homeback the blue sign//reporter audio tag

Wire/StoryDescription:
GLENWOOD CITY, Wis -- Officials have identified the western Wisconsin sheriff's deputy who was fatally shot in the line of duty Saturday evening

The St Croix County Sheriff's Office said Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, was responding to a call about a potential drunken driver in a ditch when gunfire was exchanged and she was killed

Our love and condolences go out to the family of Kaitie Leising and all those with whom she served, the sheriff's office said in a statement We, as a law enforcement family, will do everything possible to continue to provide support and comfort to her family We will miss her infectious smile and personality She will be missed by all she touched

kaitie-leisingjpg
Deputy Kaitie Leising
ST CROIX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE/CBS NEWS
The shooting occurred in the township of Glenwood, about an hour east of the Twin Cities, around 6:15 pm

The Wisconsin Department of Justice said Leising encountered a potentially impaired driver, 34-year-old Jeremiah Johnson, in a ditch, along with a car that had stopped to help him Leising asked Johnson to take field sobriety tests, and after evading her request for eight minutes, Johnson shot her, the DOJ said

Leising shot back three times, but did not hit Johnson, according to the DOJ The people at the scene tried to save Leising's life, but she was later pronounced dead at a hospital

RELATED: Local law enforcement agencies offer condolences for Deputy Kaitie Leising

Johnson fled into the woods, according to the DOJ About an hour after Leising was shot, another officer saw Johnson, heard a gunshot, and witnessed him collapse to the ground, the DOJ said A handgun was found by Johnson, and no law enforcement officers fired their weapons at that time

The sheriff's office said Leising joined St Croix County in 2022, and was with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office in South Dakota for two years before that


Robert Unruh, mayor of nearby Glenwood City, said his thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the fallen officer, the St Croix County Sheriff's Office and all law enforcement

Our community was abruptly disturbed and exposed to an incident that greatly affected everyone in many ways and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future, Unruh said

Hundreds of people in Minnesota and Wisconsin joined law enforcement from both states Sunday in escorting the sheriff's deputy Draped in the American flag, Leising's body was brought into a funeral home in Baldwin, Wisconsin surrounded by dozens of law enforcement officers in solemn salute

READ MORE: Widow of slain Pope Co Deputy Josh Owen: Losing Josh will never go away

She was never alone on her trip from St Paul to Baldwin Hundreds of people lined the streets and bridges to follow the police procession

You didn't have to know Leising personally to feel compelled to honor her life and her service to St Croix County

I'm so thankful that there are so many people here, said Hudson resident Shelly Vance We rallied last minute

A crowd of people from all over gathered on the 11th Street Bridge over I-94 on Sunday afternoon, as Deputy Leising's body was brought from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office to the funeral home

A squad car marks a memorial for her in front of the St Croix Sheriff's Office, as people have come by to lay flowers and pay their respects, including Hudson residents Chad and Laura Johnson

It's just senseless, just very sad, Laura Johnson said


Thought we'd bring our grandkids down here to support a little bit as we could do, Chad Johnson said You feel for the family members that had a daughter that didn't come home last night

A few of the deputies who just lost their colleague lowered their flags to half staff Marcia Krogseng can't believe another law enforcement officer's life was cut short

My son is a police officer I got other family who are in the police force across the two states, and I just wanted to show my respects for the officer who was lost yesterday, Krogseng said Three in Wisconsin, one in Minnesota within the last month I just hope it's not a trend

Becky Brock felt it was important to bring her daughters to see the procession

I'm sick to my stomach, actually I am disgusted with the fact that all of these officers from all of these different departments just did this three weeks ago, Brock said We can be supportive of the police department, of the firefighters, of the helpers, is what we call them in our house Look for the helpers, and all of these helpers are being supportive of each other, and we're supportive of them

This community, like the others in the last month, have all shown their strength in numbers through difficult times

We need them to come together, and we all come together That's just great to see that in our community, said Hudson resident Krista Borst

Last month, officers Hunter Scheel of Cameron and Emily Breidenbach of Chetek were killed in a shootout after serving a warrant at a traffic stop

A week after that, Pope County, Minnesota Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Owen was killed in a shootout Another deputy and a Starbuck police officer were also shot, but survived

Station Notes/Scripts:

Script:

Powerful display of support | David Schuman Reporting

Duke Lang | Somerset

Alex Bakken | Glenwood City

Becky Brock | Woodville



(( DJ / FLYSTAND ))

Hundreds of people in Minnesota and Wisconsin joined law enforcement from both states today in escorting the body of a sheriff's deputy



((DJ / VO ))

Kaitie (Lay-sing) Leising was shot and killed this weekend in St Croix County, Wisconsin while responding to a driver in a ditch

David Schuman shares the powerful display of support for the fallen officer



(( SOT / PKG BEGINS ))

Draped in the American flag, Kaitie Leising's body was brought into a funeral home in Baldwin, Wisconsin

Surrounded by dozens of law enforcement officers in solemn salute

The St Croix County sheriff's deputy was never alone on her trip from St Paul to Baldwin

Hundreds of people lined the streets and bridges to follow the police procession



15:44:09 It's a terrible thing I'm here just to support our police



15:26:42 [Raw Sun 0507 St Croix Deputy Killed 2] Duke Lang, Somerset People are just going to come out because we're a tight-knit group in St Croix County and we're going to support this officer on her way home



The Wisconsin Department of Justice says Leising was responding to a possibly drunk driver in a ditch in Glenwood Township Saturday

She asked him to do a sobriety test, but he was 'evasive' and eventually pulled a gun and shot her



16:54:47 It is sad I don't like it They don't deserve to just die like that They're just trying to keep us safe



The DOJ says Leising fired back three times but missed, and the man -- Jeremiah Johnson -- ran into the woods

During the search, they say an officer saw Johnson shoot and kill himself

Leising's the third western Wisconsin officer to be killed in the line of duty in the last month

Chetek Officer Emily Breidenbach and Cameron Officer Hunter Scheel were shot during a traffic stop in Barron County



59:18 Becky Brock, Woodville I'm sick to my stomach actually I am disgusted with the fact that all these officers from all these different departments just did this three weeks ago



Becky Brock felt it was important to bring her daughters to see the procession



59:56 We can be supportive of the police department, of the firefighters, of the helpers, which is what we call them in our house Look for the helpers and all of these helpers are supportive of each other and we're supportive of them



In St Croix County, David Schuman, WCCO News



(( DJ / CU ))

Deputy (Lay-sing) Leising was 29 years old

The St Croix County Sheriff said, We will miss her infectious smile and personality

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