Suspect Recovering In Wausau Police Shooting

Two Wausau police officers are on administrative leave and a suspect is recovering after being shot during a burglary investigation Saturday.

Police say the suspect was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after two officers investigating a burglary encountered a man with a gun. One of the officers opened fire.

Wausau Police Captain Matt Barnes said it is only the second time in his 16 years with the department that an officer has discharged his weapon at a suspect.

“There have been numerous other instances … in the last decade when officers, in my opinion, would have been justified to use deadly force, and through either luck or their abilities to communicate and their decisionmaking, it didn’t end in that result. So I think we’re lucky, and I think we train our officers incredibly well,” said Barnes.

Neither of the officers was injured during the shooting. The Department of Criminal Investigation is handling the incident at the request of the Wausau Police Department.