Denu, Erickson on paid administrative leave
The two New London police officers involved in the Aug. 19 shooting were identified Thursday morning.
Officers Ryan Denu and Brody Erickson have both been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).
Denu has been with the New London Police Department since February 2008, while Erickson has been with NLPD since February 2015.
Neither officer has been involved in a previous officer-involved shooting, according to the DCI.
The DCI has completed its interviews of Denu and Erickson, but the agency continues to collect evidence and determine the facts of the incident.
According to earlier reports, when Denu and Erickson attempted to take Kole B. Knight, formerly of Menasha, into custody, he pulled out a gun and they shot him.
Johnny Koremenos, with the state Department of Justice, later disclosed that the gun Knight possessed was “a plastic toy look-alike.”
The two officers were on patrol near the intersection of Algoma and Wallace streets when they saw the 31-year-old Knight, whom they recognized as having an active arrest warrant.
At the time of his death, Knight was facing criminal charges in Waupaca and Outagamie counties for theft and credit card fraud.
Knight was convicted of aggravated battery with a weapon in 2004 in Winnebago County and sentenced to eight years in prison.
In 2014, Knight was convicted of resisting an officer in Winnebago County.
State investigators will turn over their reports to the Outagamie County district attorney when the investigation is concluded.
“Our goal is to complete OID (officer-involved death) investigations within 30 days,” Koremenos said.