Racine officers justified in an intense fatal shooting of Timothy Burgess, no officers were injured
By: No Racine Police Officers will face charges after a man died during a shootout with the officers on May 22, 2023, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
The DOJ released findings from its investigation Monday from the May incident, where officers shot and killed 38-year-old Timothy Burgess following a traffic stop near 6th and Howland.
The report is over 700 pages long and includes dozens of videos from local surveillance, body camera, dash camera and cell phone videos.
According to the report, Mt. Pleasant Police were called to a domestic disturbance where shots were fired. Investigators learned Burgess had gotten into an argument with his wife and fired several shots at her. She was never hit.
Just before midnight, Racine Police spotted Burgess' green Range Rover and attempted to pull him over. He ran from police and ended up in a field at Clayton Park in extremely thick brush and trees.
Surveillance footage shows Burgess in the brush as officers direct commands over a loudspeaker for him to get out with his hands up.
"Crawl out of the bushes, Timothy," An officer yelled over the loudspeaker. "Crawl out. Roll out. Get out of those bushes."
Burgess complained of injuries to his legs and arms that wouldn't allow him to move.
"My [expletive] leg is broken and my arm," Burgess said. "I don't have any weapons."
Burgess asked for help from officers due to his apparent injuries. Though, one officer is heard saying he saw Burgess stand up just before he complained of the injuries.
Roughly 15 minutes later, a five-person team of officers approach Burgess with a K-9 and behind shields. As the group enters the brush, officers command Burgess to put his hands in the air. Burgess can be heard on dash and body camera footage as they approach.
"Alright, man," Burgess said. "Okay, okay."
Drone footage shows Burgess firing a handgun at officers.
Immediately after, drone footage shows Burgess pull a handgun from his right side and fire two shots at officers before officers return fire. According to the investigative report, there are roughly 80 shots fired during the 7 seconds from the first to last shot.
Body camera footage from one of the approaching officers shows a chaotic scene as they all stumble to the ground, looking for safety and returning fire at Burgess. All of the officers regroup and return to the vehicle to check for any injuries.
Reports say no officers were injured.
For over an hour after the shooting, officers call over the loudspeaker for Burgess to show his hands. When interviewed, one officer recalled hearing groans from where she last saw Burgess in the brush.
After over an hour and 20 minutes, police approached Burgess in a Bearcat.
According to time stamps on the dash camera video, at 1:52 a.m., over an hour and 20 minutes after the shooting, another group of officers in a Bearcat approach where Burgess was hunkered down. As officers approached Burgess, one of them noted he had a gun in his right hand. Officers were able to secure the gun and place handcuffs on Burgess.
Burgess was pronounced dead on scene, according to the report.