Officers involved in fatal Rice Lake shooting cleared of wrongdoing

The law enforcement officers involved in a shooting that killed a man last month in western Wisconsin were justified in their actions, authorities say.

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department and Rice Lake Police Department said an independent use-of-force panel reviewed the officers’ actions on Wednesday and determined they all acted within department policies and procedures.

That determination comes two days after the Barron County District Attorney said the officers’ actions were legally justified.

RELATED: Wisconsin DOJ: Officers shoot, kill man after he charged at them with ‘bladed weapon’

With the findings by the independent panel, which is made up of various law enforcement professionals, the involved officers are now being returned to active duty.

At around 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, officers and deputies responded to a reported stabbing in the 400 block of Hatten Avenue, the Wisconsin Department of Justice said. When police sent in a K-9 and used less-lethal options to get the suspect, who was barricaded in an apartment, to comply with orders to come out, the man allegedly charged at them with a bladed weapon.

Officers reacted by opening fire, killing him.