DA clears officers involved in fatal shooting

District attorney Jillian Pfeifer has determined that City of Rhinelander and Oneida County officers were justified in using lethal force during an incident at a River Street residence on Jan. 20 that resulted in the death of a 33-year-old man.

Pfeifer announced her decision late Friday after reviewing materials submitted by the state Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) which conducted an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the death of Steven C. Kincaid.

Among the materials reviewed were body camera and squad camera footage, dispatch audio recordings, and interviews of all law enforcement officers present at the scene, Pfeifer noted in a five-page letter explaining her decision.

According to DCI, officers responded to a residence in the 1600 block of River Street in the Town of Crescent just after 8:30 p.m. Jan. 20 after a pair of hang-up 911 calls were received by the dispatch center.

Upon arrival at the residence, it was determined that there were two subjects inside the residence. Law enforcement entered the residence where they were met with gunfire by Kincaid, according to DCI.

“One of the deputies returned fire. All law enforcement retreated outside the residence, backed away, and created a perimeter. Kincaid continued to shoot at the officers from the second level of the house and gunfire was exchanged,” according to DCI. “Tactical team members from the Vilas, Oneida, Marathon, Langlade, and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Offices responded to the residence. Verbal commands were attempted without response and non-lethal tactics were deployed. Eventually the second subject came out of the residence and was evaluated by emergency medical services on scene. The tactical team entered the house and located Kincaid who was deceased.”

In her legal analysis, Pfeifer noted that under state law, “a law enforcement officer has a legal privilege to use deadly force to protect themselves or another where the officer reasonably believes that there is an actual or imminent unlawful interference directed at themselves or another person and actually and reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or others. The reasonableness of the officer’s actions is to be judged from the standpoint of an ordinary, prudent, and reasonably intelligent person in the officer’s position, having the knowledge and training that the officer possessed, and acting under the circumstances that existed at the time.”

In this case, Pfeifer said she came to a “clear conclusion” that the officers were justified in using deadly force.

“On the evening of January 20, 2024, in response to law enforcement’s presence, Kincaid fired two shots, at close range, directly at law enforcement, creating an actual, unlawful interference directed at officers thereby allowing officers to use deadly force to protect themselves, fellow officers, and the female visitor, who was believed to still be inside the residence,” Pfeifer wrote. “Even after officers retreated out of the residence, Kincaid posed an ongoing, imminent threat of death or greatly bodily harm to the officers, and the female visitor, by continuing to fire multiple gun shots inside the residence while repeatedly refusing to surrender including Kincaid telling officers that Kincaid armed himself with a shotgun and 40 rounds of ammunition. Under the totality of the circumstances, officers actually and reasonably believed that use of lethal force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves and the female visitor. The Department of Justice - Division of Criminal Investigation is commended for their diligent and thorough investigation into this matter. The review of the information from their investigation resulted in the very clear conclusion that the officers were justified in using lethal force during the incident on January 20, 2024.”

The River News expects to publish a full story on the DA’s decision, with comments from sheriff Grady Hartman and police chief Lloyd Gauthier, in a future edition.

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].