A Lake Hallie Police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting death of a woman at Walmart in April. Chippewa County District Attorney Steve Gibbs says the evidence shows officer Adam Meyers acted in self-defense when he shot 25-year-old Melissa Abbot of Black River Falls.
Witnesses said Abbot had armed herself with a hatchet inside the store and was advancing toward Meyers as he shouted at her to drop the weapon. He then fired 2 shots. Abbot died later at a hospital. She had been on an escorted trip from a treatment center at the Northern Wisconsin Center.
According to court documents, Abbot suffered from depressive disorder and mild intellectual disability and had written in a journal about wanting to get into a shootout with police.
WAYY