Deputy involved in Oct. shooting returns to duty

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A Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man while on duty last October “did exactly what he was trained to do” and will return to his full duties immediately, according to Sheriff David Beth.

Deputy James Campbell had been on desk duty since the shooting on Oct. 24.

The officer-involved shooting stemmed from an October 24, 2015 motorcycle accident that involved 47-year-old Salem resident Darren Myron Fude, who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, according to a Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation report.

Deputy James Campbell
Deputy James Campbell

The report obtained through the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office concluded that Fude was the driver of the motorcycle that crashed on 31st Street, west of Highway 75.

As passing motorists notified the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, Fude’s wife picked him up from the scene, and drove him back to their Paddock Lake residence in the 6100 block of 31st Street, according to the report.

Investigators followed up at the residence, where Fude’s wife claimed he was not home on two occasions, but she eventually approached Fude on the third attempt.

With deputies outside the home, they heard yelling between Fude and his wife, and in turn, resulted in Fude emerging from the home with a 12-gauge shotgun, the report said.

The DCI report stated Fude held the barrel of the shotgun parallel to the ground and pointed at the deputies.

“The deputies attempted to seek cover behind trees and gave verbal commands for Darren Fude to drop the shotgun,” the 21-page report stated. “Subsequently, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Campbell fired multiple shots at Darren Fude after issuing verbal commands for Fude to drop the shotgun and Fude swinging the shotgun barrel towards Deputy Campbell.”

According to the report, Fude sustained multiple shotgun wounds, and was transported to St. Catherine’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

With all standard operating procedures, the Sheriff’s Department requested Department of Justice assistance in the investigation, citing an officer-involved shooting.

In a statement released by Beth, he said Deputy Campbell performed his job as trained, following Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department and State of Wisconsin protocol.

“I find that Deputy James Campbell was performing his job as trained, followed the laws of the State of Wisconsin and policies of the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department,” Beth stated in a letter released Thursday.

A Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s report noted Fude had a blood alcohol content of .199, more than twice the Wisconsin limit of .08, and had marijuana in his system.

The full story will appear in the May 27 edition of the Westosha Report


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