Eagle deputy-involved shooting; man shot ID'd, neighbor reacts
EAGLE, Wis. - The Walworth County Sheriff's Office has released the name of the man shot and killed by a Waukesha County sheriff's deputy in Eagle on Thursday, March 14.
The man has been identified as 39-year-old Matthew Blankman by the Waukesha County Medical Examiner.
One neighbor said she heard deputies yell at him to put down his weapon. Others in the neighborhood, who told FOX6 off-camera, they are shocked this happened.
Online court records indicate Blankman had no prior criminal record.
Waukesha County deputy-involved shooting, man dead: sheriff
A Waukesha County deputy-involved shooting left a 39-year-old man, who the sheriff said was armed, dead on Thursday, March 14.
"I was in the house and I heard several shots, four or five shots," said Jacque Weier, who also said those shots caused her to jump.
"A real short while later, I heard two more gunshots, I was kinda like, that doesn’t sound right to me," she added.
Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson says deputies got a call Thursday (March 14) for a man firing gunshots outside his home in Eagle.
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So far, investigators have only said a deputy "felt his life was in imminent danger" and shot and killed Blankman.
"I did hear really loud – one of the officers yell to put down the weapon. He yelled twice," added Weier.
Severson said his department doesn’t have body cameras or dash cams.
"It’s a financial issue," said Severson.
In a statement, Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow told FOX6 Severson has never requested body cameras in the department’s budget.
In 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) surveyed law enforcement agencies across the state about body cameras.
Of the 434 that responded, 380 agencies, or 88%, indicated officers use at least one form of recording device.
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Blankman’s family declined to speak with FOX6, but Weier says he was the father of a young child and a friendly neighbor.
"Always taking his little girl for walks around the block, bike rides."
FOX6 asked the sheriff’s department how much it would cost to get body cameras, and did not hear back.
Village of Eagle police also assisted; the police chief there says his department does have body cameras.