VIROQUA, Wis, – Following a month long investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice into an officer involved shooting that resulted in a Vernon County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shooting a Genoa, Wis. man, Vernon County District Attorney Timothy J. Gaskell determined the officer was justified in his actions and no other actions were necessary.
On June 16, Vernon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathon Brown fatally shot 61-year-old William Boardman during a traffic stop along State Highway 35 near the Dairyland Power Cooperative power plant. During the traffic stop, Boardman turned on his vehicle and began to drive away at a high rate of speed with Vernon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathon Brown standing on the running board of the vehicle. Deputy Brown gave repeated commands to stop the vehicle, which Boardman ignored. Deputy Brown then discharged his firearm, striking Boardman, who was
pronounced deceased on scene.
Following the incident, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) did an extensive investigation that resulted in a 316 page report that includes numerous videos, dispatch recordings, digital photos and forensic diagrams. The report contains interviews with the officers involved, including officers that had previous contact with Boardman and who responded to the scene. Investigators also interviewed family members, homeowners near the incident location and any motorists that witnessed the incident.
The report also details how investigators took specific precautions to handle all evidence independently of the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office, collecting memory cards from body cams and squad cams and taking them to another location. The Deputies that were involved were questioned independently and outside investigators processed the scene.
The report reveals in great detail the events leading up to the day of the incident and the circumstances around the incident itself. The incident took place on June 16 when Deputy Bradley Brueggeman went to Boardman’s residence along State Highway 35 for a wellness check after a family member called concerned about him. Boardman’s daughter called concerned about her father’s mental health and hoping to have him “committed to a hospital” or somewhere to get him help. Boardman’s daughter later told investigators she had not seen her father since December and she had stopped to check on him and said he seemed “not right”. She said he initially slammed the door on her but was able to eventually talk with him, and he told her there were people staying on the property and he wanted them gone. She said he also seemed paranoid about neighbors and other people “messing with” his electricity and flying drones over his property. Boardman’s daughter also stated that she believed his drug use had gotten worse over the years and he was “going crazy”. She said the interior of his house was destroyed and that there no complete walls left because they all had so many holes in them. She also said his electricity had been shut off.
Boardman’s daughter also stated her father had once been committed to a hospital in Califormia for methamphetamine use. Through the interview with Boardman’s daughter and other relatives a view of Boardman’s history gives a deeper context to the incident. Relatives stated that the house Boardman lives in was the house where his parents lived, and they had both died there in separate fire related incidents. Boardman’s father died in 2003 when he caught fire while trying to start a wood stove in the basement using an accelerrant . The relatives say Boardman was there at the time and put the flames on his fathers body as he ran out of the house.
Relatives also told investigators that in 2012 Boardman’s mother died in a fire in the same house . They stated Boardman’s mother was getting annoyed with him and asked him to leave, he left to go drinking and when he returned and opened the door of the house it became engulfed in flames. Boardman’s mother died of smoke inhalation. Boardman rebuilt the house on same foundation. Relatives said that following his mothers death Boardman’s demeanor changed he was no longer his “normal jolly self” and he blamed himself for her death. Relatives said he stopped answering the phone and did not have contact with some of them for years. Some relatives said they also saw Boardmans drug use start when he previously had not used drugs.
On June 16 Vernon County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Brueggeman was the first to make contact with Boardman at his residence on June 16, but Boardman had contact with a Sheriff’s Deputy just three days earlier in June 13. On that day Vernon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Winchell observed Boardman pass his squad car at a speed of between 75 and 91 mph.
Below is Sergeant Winchell’s description of that interaction with Boardman on June 13:
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