MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office cleared Officer Kevin Hansen on Friday of any wrongdoing related to the deadly shooting of Herman Lucas in late February.
The incident occurred on Feb. 21, 2023, near 91st and Silver Spring. 31-year-old Lucas died after Officer Hansen shot and killed him during a foot pursuit.
Police attempted to pull Lucas over on the 7000 block of W. Thurston Ave. because the car he was driving was unregistered and did not have any license plates, according to the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD).
Lucas took off and a pursuit began. The pursuit ended when Lucas ran a red light and collided with another driver in the 9100 block of W. Silver Spring Drive, according to MPD.
Lucas then got out of his vehicle and ran away. While running from officers, a firearm can be seen in his hands, according to surveillance video.
Lucas failed to listen to police commands to drop his weapon, police say. While attempting to scale a fence, he fell to the ground. Lucas then turned towards Officer Hansen and the officer fired his gun, striking Lucas multiple times. Hansen discharged his firearm ten times, according to the DA's Office.
Lucas died from his injuries. His weapon, a semi-automatic firearm, was recovered.
Officer Hansen, who had five years of service at the time of the incident, was placed on administrative leave per department protocol.
On Friday, the DA's Office ruled Officer Hansen's use of force was consistent with state law for protecting the community and his own life.
The clearance letter says in part, "Mr. Lucas was armed with a loaded semi-automatic pistol that he brandished in a public place while a uniformed officer was lawfully attempting to arrest him and refused to surrender the weapon or comply with lawful orders. Despite repeated orders to relinquish control of his firearm, Lucas picked up his gun after inadvertently dropping it while colliding with a fence. Lucas posed an immediate threat to the safety of Officer Hansen and anyone else in that vicinity."
You can read the full clearance letter below:
MPD previously released edited body camera footage showing parts of the deadly shooting.
[Editor's note: A link to the video is provided below. Viewer discretion is advised.]
The edited video is part of MPD's Community Briefing and was shared with the public on YouTube.
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