A man was shot and killed by a Madison police officer early Friday morning during a physical confrontation in connection to a residential burglary on the 500 block of South Baldwin Street.
According to a statement by the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office, the deceased has been identified as Paul Heenan, 30, of Madison.
“The results of the autopsy confirm that his death was the result of firearm-related trauma,” the statement said. “Additional case testing is currently underway.”
According to a Madison Police Department statement: “Officer Stephen Heimsness is the officer directly involved in the incident. He joined the MPD in 1997. Officer Stacy Troumbly provided emergency life-saving measures to the person who was shot. She joined the MPD in 2011.”
The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said. This is standard protocol for an officer involved in a shooting.
The MPD statement said Heenan lived in the neighborhood where the burglary occurred.
DeSpain said officers responded to the scene of the burglary after a woman called 911 because she heard the door to her home opening.
The first officer on the scene saw the woman’s husband and the suspect struggling outside of the home, according to DeSpain. He said Heenan got into a physical altercation with the officer, despite the officer telling the man to get down multiple times.
DeSpain said during the physical confrontation the suspect was shot by the officer.
According to the statement, MPD personnel immediately began performing life-saving measures and were aided by the Madison Fire Department paramedics, although the attempts were unsuccessful.
DeSpain said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said a meeting in the Marquette neighborhood, where the incident occurred, would be held sometime within the next two weeks by Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6.
Verveer said the meeting would allow residents to discuss the status of the investigation, after more of the investigation has been completed by police and more information is available.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Heenan was an active member in Madison’s music scene, serving as a sound engineer Friday night for the band Hometown Sweethearts.
Hometown Sweetheart band members Scott Beardsley, Chris Boeger and Nate Palan released a statement.
“We are absolutely destroyed by this huge tragedy,” they wrote in an email to the Wisconsin State Journal. “Paulie was a dear friend to us. He was a sweet, caring and talented guy that would go out of his way to help everyone he knew. His wide range of talents were an indisputable part of many of the musical projects we’ve been involved in over the past 10 years. He was nothing but positive and supportive of us. We are left with a giant hole in his absence. We will miss Paulie forever.”
DeSpain said anyone with information is encouraged to call the MPD at 608-266-4418.
Molly McCall contributed to this story.
