Town of Geneva man shot 11 times after lunging at police, reports say
By Vicky Wedig
Editor
Two Town of Geneva police officers are able to return to work after being on administrative leave since fatally shooting a man Jan. 8 on Lincoln Drive.
A state Department of Justice investigation and Walworth County District Attorney’s office review found that the officers’ fatal shooting of Eric C. Olsen, 26, was justified.
The departments determined officers Eric Anderson and Jason Sweeney’s use of lethal force was privileged under the law when they fired multiple shots at Olsen, killing him, after he broke into a Lincoln Drive home near Lake Como with an axe and ran toward officers with a knife.
Olsen’s family believes the reports from the agencies do not accurately reflect the circumstances of the shooting and have filed a notice of injury with the Town of Geneva Police Department and Walworth County.
Chris and Betty Olson through their attorney John Cabaniss, of Milwaukee, said the officers shot their son 11 times and their actions were negligent and without legal justification.
Walworth County DA Dan Necci provided local media with a copy of a May 10 letter to Town of Geneva Police Chief Steven Hurley summarizing his review of the reports but did not respond to Southern Lakes Newspapers’ verbal request for the DOJ report.
In the summary, Necci outlined what officials say transpired on the day Olsen was killed. He said on the late afternoon or early evening, Garry Humphrey, a neighbor of Olsen’s, was at his home at W3836 Lincoln Drive when he heard a loud crash coming from his son’s bedroom, which was occupied by his son, Jeremiah Humphrey and several teenage friends, according to the letter. The window had been smashed and the teenagers had taken refuge in Garry Humphrey’s bedroom.
Humphrey went outside to investigate and saw Olsen on his lawn with a 4-foot long ax. Humphrey had a hammer and called to his son to get him a longer weapon, according to Necci. Olsen was erratic and told the Humphreys he was going to cut off his head, according to the letter. Jeremiah Humphrey got a crow bar for his father, armed himself with a hammer and called 911.
A fight ensued between Olsen and Gary Humphrey as Olsen swing the ax at Humphrey but missed, according to the letter. The ax became lodged in the siding of the house, and Humphrey hit Olsen with the crowbar as the two struggled over the ax.
When police arrived, Olsen pulled a knife from his belt, raised it up and walked four or five steps toward officers Anderson and Sweeney, according to the letter. He yelled suicidal statements while waving the knife around and then ran toward Sweeney and Anderson, Necci said. Both officers fired and continued to fire until Olsen stopped approaching and fell to the ground, according to the letter.
“I believe that Officer Sweeney’s and Officer Anderson’s actions were privileged as acts of defense of themselves or others pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes sections 939.45 and 939.48,” Necci wrote.
