D.A.: DEPUTIES WHO KILLED CLARK CO. MAN ACTED PROPERLY

NEILLSVILLE -- Two Jackson County sheriff's deputies who shot and
killed Shane J. Jacoby in November acted properly and in defense of
another officer, Clark County District Attorney Darwin Zwieg has decided.

Jacoby had marijuana on his person, but toxicology tests were
negative, Zwieg said.

If urine tests were done, they "may yield a better or different result
than blood (tests)," Zwieg said.

The district attorney hinted at other reasons for the incident.

"There is some suggestion that the journey of Mr. Jacoby laying face
down on the road near Hatfield may have started on the way to Kuwait
as a part of Desert Storm," he said.

Jacoby was shot by Jackson County Chief Deputy Jamie Guttenberg and
Lt. Rob Stapel, according to the report.

Zwieg based his conclusions on 607 pages of documents compiled by
Department of Justice Special Agent Michael Rindt, who delivered the
three-ring binder of reports, diagrams and photographs to Zwieg on
Wednesday.

"Law enforcement officers involved in the tragic incident appear to
have exercised remarkable restraint under extremely tense
circumstances," Zwieg wrote.

"At the end of the day, the events of November 29, 2005, were a
tragedy for all involved," he concluded.

According to a memorandum Zwieg wrote:

While Clark County Deputy Dennis Soyk was driving his marked squad car
near Hatfield, he approached Jacoby, who was walking in the middle of
the road.

Jacoby went into a crouched shooting stance and aimed his .357 magnum
handgun at Soyk, who feared for his life, drew his service weapon but
did not fire.

Within a short time, Soyk and Clark County Sgt. Kent Wright, who had
arrived at the scene, heard a number of shots fired. Jacoby stopped
and pointed his gun at the deputies, but they again did not shoot.

Various law enforcement officers yelled at, commanded and "virtually
pleaded" with Jacoby to put his gun down, but Jacoby didn't respond.

They saw Jacoby break a window to a residence and fire several rounds
from his handgun into its front door.

Confronted with the possibility that someone in the residence might be
shot or held hostage, the officers would have been justified in using
lethal force then, Zwieg wrote.

Jacoby was seen reloading his weapon.

Soyk heard an officer say, "He's raising his arm!" or "He's bringing
his arm up!"

After that, the two Jackson County deputies, who had also responded to
the scene, shot Jacoby.

"The use of lethal force was used as a last resort when it appeared
that a Clark County deputy was in imminent danger of being fired upon
and perhaps shot by Mr. Jacoby," Zwieg said.

Zwieg detailed the Jackson County deputies' training.

Guttenberg was with the military police for four years and received a
Purple Heart and a Bronze Star of Valor as a result of combat. A
10-year veteran of the Colorado State Patrol, he has had extensive
training in special operations team tactical training and emergency
response training, Zwieg said.

Stapel, Jackson County's emergency response team director, was with
the Wisconsin State Patrol for about eight years and with the military
police for about six years. He has tactical and SWAT training, as well
as in command post operations, close-quarter battle, SWAT supervision
and command decision-making.

Terri Goettl, administrative assistant to Jackson County sheriff and
chief deputy, said Friday the department would not comment on anything
outside the report.

Zwieg and Clark County Sheriff Louis Rosandich could not be reached
for comment.