Madison Police (Photo: WRN)
The city of Madison has agreed to pay the family of a man shot and killed by a police officer almost three years ago $2.3 million to settle a civil lawsuit.
An attorney for the estate of Paul Heenan announced the deal Tuesday. The settlement is believed to be the largest for a fatal police shooting in state history.
Heenan, a 30-year-old musician, was shot to death in November of 2012 by then-Madison Police Officer Stephen Heimsness. Heenan had been drinking and police were called to the scene after he attempted to enter a neighbor’s home. Heimsness arrived to find Heenan struggling with a neighbor, then opened fire after he claimed Heenan ignored verbal command and reached for his weapon.
The police department cleared Heimsness of any wrongdoing in the shooting, but Police Chief Noble Wray later filed a complaint accusing him of over 100 violations of department policies. None of those were related to the Heenan shooting. Heimsness resigned from the department in November of 2013.