A Wisconsin police officer will not face criminal charges for shooting and killing a man inside an Appleton bar.
According to Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider, Appleton Police Lt. Jay Steinke was shooting at Henry Nellum, the man accused of fighting and eventually firing a shot at a man inside Jack's Apple Pub.
She said he did not intentionally shoot Jimmie Montel Sanders, the African-American man killed that night.
We have posted today's media conference, in its entirety, on our YouTube channel at https://t.co/Ssb0H3uE59 pic.twitter.com/nkDIfDtgXZ
— Appleton Police (@AppletonPD_WI) June 2, 2017
After Nellum allegedly got into a fight and fired his gun at Leander Moffitt, he got up and tried to run out of the bar through the State Street entrance, Schneider explained.
At that time, Lt. Steinke entered Jack's Apple Pub through the same entrance and saw Nellum running towards him with a gun, according to Schneider. Lt. Steinke then allegedly fired four shots in about 1.5 seconds at Nellum.
While shooting, people inside the bar were pushing Lt. Steinke, she said.
Jimmie Montel Sanders was standing next to Nellum when Lt. Steinke fired, Schneider said. She explained that one shot hit Nellum and another hit Sanders, who was a bystander, in the back and killed him.
"This was a significant and tragic event on many levels," said Schneider.
Lt. Steinke acted appropriately given the threat, according to Schneider.
Sanders did n
ot know Nellum or the man he was fighting with, Leander Moffitt.
Sanders' foster sister, Cynthia Thomas, said the results of the investigation are unacceptable.
"This man had a life, this man had a family," she said. "This man had people out there that loved him, and all of the comments and the Facebook and messaging I get, everything has been positive. I get the negative too from people, but at the end of the day, my brother was wrongfully shot by people that are supposed to protect and serve."
Henry Nellum will now face additional charges of felony murder and attempted aggravated battery, DA Schneider said.
She said the law allows for that kind of charge when a death occurs while a person is committing a felony offense.
