Video Released; Special Investigator Appointed in Pero Killing

November 17, 2017 by Barbara With

KBJR6 TV released the video of the aftermath of the killing of 14-year-old Jason Pero on the Bad River Reservation on November, 8, 2017.  Ashland County Sheriff’s Deputy Brock Mrdjenovich shot Jason in front of his Grandparent’s house.

The Bad River Tribe has requested that the US Department of Justice conduct a civil rights investigation into police misconduct. In a statement made yesterday, the Tribal Council stood behind Jason, saying he was not a threat and was known in the community as a “kind and gentle person with a great sense of humor.”

Michael Nieskes, special investigator for the Jason Pero killing

Jason’s mother, Holly Gauthier, also expressed her concern over the laws concerning police killings. “This police brutality has to end, it’s an epidemic in our country and against all Native Americans,” she said. “Now our family is counted among them. Many of these killings are unlawful and are not properly prosecuted. Our laws about prosecuting unlawful police conduct need to change, and this has to end now.”

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Shimmel has appointed St. Croix County District Attorney Michael Nieskes to serve as external investigator.  The investigation is part of a Wisconsin law that mandates that if an officer was involved with a loss of life that outside investigators must come in and collect the data and investigate that shooting.

Nieskes will review the evidence and determine whether Mrdjenovich was justified in the shooting and if criminal prosecution is warranted.