TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) confirmed that, on Wednesday, June 2, a report of a stolen vehicle at about 5:24 p.m., led to two Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department squad cars pursuing that vehicle, which was traveling westbound on a township road in rural Lincoln County, when it left the roadway and crashed.
The crash, which occurred on Joe Snow Road just west of Hwy. Q, south of Merrill, is under investigation by the Wisconsin DOJ DCI, as it is an officer involved critical incident, and all involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with the investigation. The Wisconsin State Patrol, Lincoln County Coroner’s Office, Merrill Fire Department, Merrill EMS, Merrill Police Department and DOJ’s Office of Crime Victim Services all responded and are also cooperating with the investigation.
Occupants of the two squad cars were Deputy Sheriff Dean Dokken, 1 year of service; Deputy Sheriff Logan Lange, 5 years of service; and Deputy Sheriff Ashtin Zunker, 3 months of service. No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.
Tragically, the driver and lone occupant of the vehicle that crashed, David J. Burdick, age 27, of Tomahawk, despite life-saving measures, died at the scene.
DCI is continuing to review evidence and determine the facts of this incident and will turn over investigative reports to the Lincoln County District Attorney when the investigation concludes. No further information is available at this time.