A Beloit police officer shot a man identified as Hispanic on Wednesday evening.
A Rock County dispatch shift supervisor confirmed late Wednesday night that a law enforcement officer had shot someone and that the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) had taken over the investigation. Town of Beloit Police and Rock County Sheriff deputies also assisted at the scene.
A DCI press release issued at 3:00 Thursday morning said a sergeant was investigating a car accident when a man attacked her and attempted to take her firearm, and she discharged her firearm and struck the subject. The subject was taken to a local hospital and his condition was not known.
That account seems inconsistent with police dispatch audio, which indicates that around 7:45 pm Wednesday, a Hispanic man was “having some mental health issue” and threw his body against a slow-moving car. An officer said she was following him and would attempt to make contact with him again. Moments later, a female officer told dispatchers that shots were fired and said, “One down. I’m ok.” She later confirmed it was a law enforcement officer who had fired a weapon. Officers can later be heard saying they had applied a tourniquet to the man’s right arm.
The Rock County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday that their office was not called to the scene and had no involvement.
The DCI press release said the officer is a sergeant and was placed on administrative leave, per department policy.
Listen to the police dispatch audio:
A witness said in a Facebook Live video that she heard two shots, then saw the man running away from a female police officer. The witness said in the live video that he fell in front of her house, where police can be seen rendering aid for several minutes before an ambulance arrived. The man was placed on a stretcher and in an ambulance, which did not leave the scene for more than 30 minutes.
The witness who posted the Facebook live video didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment or permission to share the video, so we are not identifying the witness.
Beloit police officers have worn body cameras since 2018.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
