Bodycam shows Ozaukee deputy who fatally shot Christopher Sewell after pursuit was found justified
By: An Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man in November in the Town of Grafton will not face criminal charges, according to the county’s district attorney.
Deputy Michael Zilke shot Christopher Thomas Sewell, 29, seven times in the front of the body with one shot to the forehead after officers said Sewell brandished a firearm.
“I … conclude that there is no basis to consider or issue criminal charges against any of the law enforcement officers involved in this incident,” Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol said in a statement released Saturday by the state Department of Justice.
“A law enforcement officer may use deadly force where he has probably cause, believing that an armed suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or others.”
Police had been trying to arrest Sewell for an Oct. 30 incident in which he allegedly threatened neighbors with a gun who had complained about loud music coming from an apartment unit he was staying at 1034 Lakefield Road.
The neighbor above the apartment Sewell was staying in had banged his foot on the floor several times before Sewell allegedly forced his way into the neighbor’s apartment with a gun and said, “I will smoke you in your own crib” after the neighbor said, “It wasn’t that serious.”
Deputies identified Sewell through another neighbor’s Ring video camera and said Sewell had been staying at an apartment of a woman who had an injunction against him, although the woman denied he was there.
Sewell also had multiple arrest warrants out of Milwaukee and Kenosha counties.
Police were surveilling the apartment building on Nov. 2 when they saw him leave about 11 a.m. and drive away in a red Oldsmobile Bravada.
Police attempted a traffic stop and said Sewell sped away, but later lost control of the vehicle when police deployed a tire deflation device.
Sewell then fled on foot into a wooded area before deputies said he stopped and turned toward Zilke holding a handgun, later determined to be a Tara Aerospace 9mm pistol.
The handgun was found underneath Sewell before officers moved it away and attempted life-saving measures and CPR.
Officers also found a bag of cocaine on Sewell’s sock.
“While I regret that any incident results in the loss of life, Mr. Sewell’s death was occasioned by his own behavior,” Gerol said in a statement. “It didn’t have to end this way.”
“Simply put, Christopher Sewell forced Deputy Zilke into a situation where there was nothing else he could do but protect his own life and fulfill his oath to protect the public.”