Fond du Lac police justified in the fatal shooting of Lawrence Drennan after a high speed chase

No charges will be filed against a North Fond du Lac police officer for shooting and killing a suspect who had threatened to kill officers and would not show his hands, Winnebago County District Attorney Eric Sparr ruled.

Sgt. Bryce LaLuzerne stopped Lawrence Drennan during a traffic stop on Feb. 2, but Drennan drove off. LaLuzerne's body cam shows he pulled him for not having his tail lights on. During the stop, the officer suspected Drennan was intoxicated. He asked Drennan to get out of the vehicle, but Drennan drove off.

The pursuit made its way to Interstate 41. During the chase, Drennan called 911 and made comments including “if they stop me, I will shoot them all to death”, and “get ready to fire to kill, because I’m going to fire to kill.” Those comments were related to LaLuzerne.

After a tire deflation device was used, Drennan’s vehicle stopped. Drennan did not follow LaLuzerne’s commands, and kept his right hand hidden behind his back. Drennan also repeated the comments that officers would need to shoot him. As Drennan moved towards the officer, LaLuzerne fired twice, striking Drennan once.

Winnebago Co. District Attorney Eric Sparr's opinion on a Feb. 2 officer involved shooting.

Autopsy results showed Drennan had a BAC of .198, more than twice the legal driving limit, according to Sparr’s report.