Incident Type: Arrest - Battery/Weapons Offense
Incident Date: 4/29/2023
Release Date: 5/3/2023
Incident number: FP23-09169
Prepared By: Lt. Andrew McCarthy
Details:
On Saturday, April 29, 2023 at around 1:00 p.m., officers with the Fitchburg Police Department were dispatched to an apartment in the 2500 block of Post Road for a report of a physical fight in progress. As officers were responding, the 911 caller indicated that one of the persons involved was armed with a gun and used it to strike another individual.
Officers arrived shortly after receiving the call and encountered the suspect in the building. During this initial contact with officers, the suspect pulled a handgun from his waistband and tossed it onto the floor behind him, where it landed near a young child.
After dropping the gun, the suspect refused to comply with commands from the officers attempting to take him into custody. Because the suspect continued to defy orders and was still within reach of the gun, an electronic-control device (TASER) was deployed. After the TASER deployment failed to control the suspect, K9 Drago was deployed leading to the apprehension and arrest of the suspect.
Even as the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, officers on the scene displayed significant restraint. The officers made numerous attempts to de-escalate the dangerous situation involving a gun and uninvolved community members, including a young child, present.
The suspect was identified as William C. Robinson, 35, from Fitchburg. William sustained only minor injuries, and was evaluated at a local hospital before being booked into the Dane County Jail on charges of 2nd Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, Battery while Armed, Intentionally Pointing a Firearm at a Person, Disorderly Conduct, and Resisting an Officer.
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access - Case# 2023CF001123