The Janesville police officer involved in a non-fatal shooting on March 26 will not face any charges.
Rock County District Attorney David O’Leary reviewed the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation and determined officer Lyle Hollingshead acted lawfully when he shot and hit Christian A. Cargill twice.
“Officer Hollingshead fired at Cargill only after all less lethal methods had failed and Cargill began to advance toward the law enforcement officers,” O’Leary wrote. “Officer Hollingshead was attempting to protect not only the lives of the law enforcement officers but of the civilians in the area had Cargill been able to get away from the officers.
The DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation said Cargill emerged from a vehicle crash on Highway 14 in Janesville holding a knife to his own neck.
Cargill was driving a pickup truck pulling a camper on Interstate 39/90, when he drove off the interstate, down an embankment and onto Highway 14 before striking a power pole.
Investigators said officers tried multiple methods to get Cargill to drop the knife, including tasers and .40 millimeter foam rounds. When those methods failed, officer Hollingshead shot and hit Cargill in the right shoulder and upper left leg.
While on the ground, Cargill attempted to cut his own throat with the knife, and it took as many as eight officers to subdue him.
He told investigators “he held the knife to his throat because he did not want to be tortured by the Aryan Brotherhood.” He believed the police were corrupt and “working with the mafia.”
Cargill said he was smoking methamphetamine daily and had left Oklahoma two weeks earlier to get away from the drug.
O’Leary said his office is still determining whether Cargill will face any criminal charges for his role in the incident.
You can download O’Leary’s full investigation report here.
