DA: Town of Geneva officers' use of deadly force justified in January 8th officer-involved shooting



TOWN OF GENEVA -- Officials with the Town of Geneva Police Department said Wednesday, May 11th Officer Eric Anderson and Officer Jason Sweeney will be returning to full duty, as the investigation into an officer-involved shooting that happened on January 8th has been completed. Walworth County District Attorney Daniel Necci has ruled the officers' use of deadly force justified in this case.

Officers Jason Sweeney (left) and Eric Anderson



The Town of Geneva Police Department said this in a statement:

As a result of the officer-involved shooting which occurred on January 8th, 2016 in the Town of Geneva, the Department of Criminal Investigation and the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office recently completed their investigation.  The investigation was provided to Walworth County District Attorney Dan Necci for his review.  As a result of the review, the officers will be returning to full duty.


CLICK HERE to read a letter from DA Daniel Necci to the Town of Geneva's chief of police.

The incident began around 5:00 p.m. on January 8th.

A man living in a home on Lincoln Drive, who asked that FOX6 News not identify him, recounted the frightening ordeal.



"There were people over. They all started screaming. I came out of my room and in the other room, I could see a battle axe coming through the window over and over again," said the homeowner.

While his guests took cover in a back room, the homeowner went outside to confront the suspect, Eric Olsen.

"It was fight or flight," said the homeowner. "The person had some issues, wanted to get to some people, appeared to be deranged,  eyes were wild, wasn't reasonable -- and then turned toward me and started coming at me with the axe, swinging it. He then reached back and pulled out a chain and started whipping it in the air and going after me with that," said the homeowner.

The man dodged the weapons and tried to keep Olsen at bay until help arrived.

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"Then the police officers came. They came on the front line. This person redirected himself toward them. They surrounded him. Then he pulled out a dagger. He was holding it out -- threatening them. They gave him warnings," said the homeowner.

When the homeowner went inside, shots were fired.

"I came out and seen he had fallen to the ground on his side. There was no movement," said the homeowner.

The homeowner recognized Olsen -- and says he knew him from around town.

"He had some issues in the past, psychological issues. He snapped. Something was off this day. The police had to do their job. They are not at fault. They showed up to do what they were supposed to do. The person was acting irrational and out of control. He had to stop himself and he chose not to," said the homeowner.

The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation led this investigation.

The two Town of Geneva police officers who fired in this case were placed on administrative leave -- but they have now returned to duty.

Eric Olsen's family said this in a statement:

"(Tuesday) afternoon, (May 10th), Betty and I reviewed the reports prepared by the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Office of the District Attorney for Walworth County relating to the death of our son, Eric, who was shot 11 times by two Town of Geneva police officers a few blocks from our home this past January. We are deeply saddened by the contents of these reports as we do not believe that they fully reflect the circumstances of the shooting, nor the events leading up to it. We are continuing to investigate the facts of this tragedy -- and whether the investigation was handled properly under the Michael Bell law -- and we are committed to do justice for our son.

Last week, pursuant to state statute, we provided notice of injury to Walworth County and the Town of Geneva."


CLICK HERE to read that notice of injury, filed the first week of May.

CLICK HERE to access the Wisconsin Department of Justice's reports in this case.

CLICK HERE for links to digital files related to this case.