GLENWOOD, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy responding to a call about a suspected drunken driver in a ditch was shot and killed, authorities said Sunday.
The suspect fled into woods and was found dead from a gunshot wound, the state Department of Justice said.
The 29-year-old St. Croix County sheriff’s deputy, Kaitie Leising, was shot early Saturday evening in Glenwood, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Minneapolis, St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said.
Leising was hired in 2022 after she spent approximately two years working for the sheriff’s office in Pennington County, South Dakota, Knudson said.
Leising’s body was being escorted by police back to Wisconsin from the medical examiner’s office in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“We will miss her infectious smile and personality. She will be missed by all she touched,” Knudson said.
No details were released about the dead driver or the exchange of gunfire.