Waukesha police shoot and kill a knife-wielding man

A Waukesha police officer shot and killed a forgery suspect early Sunday when the 55-year-old man drew a knife and charged, police said.

Police were withholding the names of both the officer and the man who was shot until relatives could be notified.

According to a statement from Waukesha Police Chief Russell Jack:

The shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. near Prairie Avenue and School Drive.

The officer had been dispatched there to look for a suspect in a forgery case who had been communicating with police by phone.

An officer had been urging the man to turn himself in, but he refused, prompting police to go to the area, on the city’s south side. Meanwhile, police received information that the man was threatening to slit his wrists.

When an officer spotted the man — described as 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighing more than 300 pounds and having an extensive criminal history — the suspect “immediately pulled a knife and threatened the officer.”

The officer attempted to defuse the situation verbally and “by creating distance,” but his orders were ignored.

The man charged, and the officer, fearing he would be stabbed, fired his gun, striking the man four times in the chest.

Police performed first aid, using CPR and an automated defibrillator.

A Waukesha Fire Department team took the man to Waukesha Memorial Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead.

The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team is investigating the shooting in collaboration with the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office.

The man who was killed was a past felony offender with convictions for battery, burglary, theft, fraud and battery to a peace officer.

The officer involved has more than five years of experience and, per department policy, has been placed on paid administrative leave.