EAGLE — New police body-worn camera video and reports detail the moment authorities moved in and shot and killed a man who was experiencing a mental health crisis in the Village of Eagle back on March 14.
The shooting killed 39-year-old Matthew Blankman, who had a gun and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of his death, according to reports.
TMJ4's Lighthouse Reporter Ryan Jenkins obtained the bodycam video from Eagle Police. In the video, you can hear officers shout for Blankman to "drop the gun" multiple times before at least four gunshots are heard.
Watch: Bodycam video offers new insight into moment a deputy shot and killed Eagle man
The video has not been shared publicly until now.
Jaci Chelstowski, Blankman's fiance, called 911 because Blankman had been shooting a gun off the pier behind his house. Chelstowski is a psych nurse with a decade of experience.
In an exclusive interview last week, Jaci told Jenkins that she hoped law enforcement would respond and help take Matthew to the hospital for mental health care.
"I guess maybe I was naive and thought they would come and we'd go on a speaker and be like 'Matt were here to help you. Nobody here is going to hurt you," said Chelstowski.
Instead, a Waukesha County Sheriff's Deputy shot and killed Blankman.
"I must've said 9 times on that 911 call, just please tell the police not to shoot," she said.
The District Attorney's (DA) office issued a report that says the deadly use of force by that deputy was "warranted," adding that there was no safe place for the deputy to "safely retreat."
In light of what happened to her fiance, Jaci says she is now working with mental health organizations to raise awareness around what she says is a need for more mental health intervention training for law enforcement.
"You have a highly trained psych nurse and then you're telling them everything they need to know and he's dead in less than a minute? What does that mean for the rest of everybody? The world?" Chelstowski asked.
She believes that given all of the information that she relayed to dispatchers, law enforcement should've been able to come up with a different approach that may have de-escalated this situation and prevented Blankman's death.
"I want them to have training," said Chelstowski.
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