October 22, 2026 – Germantown, WI — On October 22, 2026, at approximately 12:11 a.m., a Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy located a vehicle traveling southbound on I-41 near Holy Hill Road.
The vehicle had previously been involved in a pursuit with the Slinger Police Department.
Authorities had reason to believe the driver may have been armed and was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation in the Village of Jackson.
The deputy initiated a low-speed pursuit, and the Germantown Police Department was requested to assist with a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver. The vehicle continued southbound on I-41 before turning northbound just south of Lannon Road.
The driver continued to operate the vehicle recklessly until a successful PIT maneuver was conducted on I-41 approximately 0.2 miles north of Mequon Road. The vehicle entered the east side of the roadway and came to a stop.
As deputies and officers prepared to approach the vehicle, a single gunshot, determined to be from a non-law-enforcement firearm, was heard. Deputies and officers then approached the vehicle and located the driver deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Two firearms were located inside the vehicle. The 32-year-old Jackson man was pronounced deceased at the scene.
In the interest of transparency, the East Central Wisconsin Sheriff’s Investigative Team was requested to investigate the incident. The team is a multi-jurisdictional investigative unit formed to promote public trust through accurate, objective, transparent, timely, and professional investigations of major incidents, including officer-involved critical incidents.
The investigative team includes members from the Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Washington County Sheriff’s Offices. The Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office is the lead investigative agency, working in conjunction with the Washington County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office extends its appreciation to the public-safety agencies that assisted during this incident, including the East Central Wisconsin Sheriff’s Investigative Team, Germantown Fire and Police Departments, Jackson Police Department, Slinger Police Department, and Wisconsin State Patrol.
This is the only initial information available at this time and any other additional information may be released by the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office at a later time.
