Attorney General releases summary of officer-involved shooting in Madison

November 1, 2020
Mike Tanner

PIERRE, S.D.—South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg says a Lake County sheriff’s deputy was justified in shooting a man in late September in Madison.

Police and sheriff’s deputies were dispatched September 30th on a report of a suicidal man armed with a shotgun in a vehicle outside a Madison convenience store.

That man, 34 year-old Benjamin Hernandez of Madison, made numerous threats to kill himself, and shoot officers.

A Madison police officer fired two non-lethal rounds in an attempt to disarm Hernandez and get him out of the vehicle.

That was unsuccessful, and led to Hernandez pointing the loaded shotgun toward officers with his finger on the trigger.

The deputy then fired a single round that struck Hernandez in the chest, ultimately disarming him.

Ravnsborg concluded the deputies actions were justified.