A Wisconsin deputy was shot and killed while responding to a report of a drunk driver who crashed his vehicle into a ditch on the side of the road. When St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, arrived at the scene, she approached the driver, Jeremiah Johnson, 34, and asked him to perform a field sobriety test, but he refused and started acting evasive toward her.
Leising spoke with him for about eight minutes when he suddenly pulled out a handgun and shot her. She returned fire but missed as Johnson fled into the woods. The occupants of another vehicle that stopped to help Johnson rushed to Leising and began lifesaving measures on her until paramedics arrived.
Leising was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Officers began searching the woods and found Johnson about an hour later. An officer saw him and then heard a single gunshot. The officer found Johnson dead, with a gun next to his body. Officials said that no officers discharged their firearms during the search.
"Our love and condolences go out to the family of Kaitie Leising and all those with whom she served," St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said. "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."