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Eric James Keesen

Age : 39

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/16/2021

Location : Motel in the Village of Balsam Lake

City : Balsam Lake

County : Polk

State : Wisconsin

Agency : Polk County Sheriff’s Office; Rice Lake Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Suicide

Event : Suicide under police duress during motel standoff

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 09/17/2021, 39-year-old Eric James Keesen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the conclusion of an approximately 11-hour police standoff at a motel in Balsam Lake. The encounter began the previous evening when the Polk County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Rice Lake Police Department in locating Keesen, who was wanted on active felony warrants.
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Keesen was born on 08/23/1982 in Rice Lake and lived there at the time of his death. He worked in roofing and had a daughter. His obituary confirms that he died on 09/17/2021.
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The reason police were attempting to arrest Keesen is documented. Authorities said he was wanted on a felony stalking warrant from Barron County and a child enticement warrant from Washburn County. Earlier records show that Rice Lake police had sought Keesen in 2020 on allegations including stalking, violation of a domestic abuse order, violation of a harassment restraining order and bail jumping.
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The Washburn County case arose from a December 2020 undercover investigation in which investigators alleged that Keesen communicated online with a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl and traveled toward Shell Lake to meet her. The person was actually an undercover law-enforcement profile. Keesen was subsequently charged with using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime.
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At approximately 7:23 p.m. on 09/16/2021, investigators located Keesen at a motel in Balsam Lake. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Keesen armed himself with a handgun and barricaded himself inside one of the motel rooms.
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A large multi-agency police operation followed. Agencies assisting included the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Barron County Sheriff’s Office, Rice Lake Police Department, St. Croix Falls Police Department, Luck Police Department, Balsam Lake/Centuria Police Department, Frederic Police Department, Amery Police Department, Milltown Police Department and Osceola Police Department.
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Police remained outside the motel while attempting to communicate with Keesen. The standoff continued throughout the night for more than 11 hours. Authorities reported that Keesen eventually stopped communicating with police.
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Officers then entered the motel and searched for Keesen. They located him hiding in an attic space. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said officers attempted to take him into custody peacefully, but Keesen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officers attempted lifesaving measures, but he died at the scene.
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No police gunfire was reported as causing Keesen's death. His death therefore qualifies for this database as suicide under police duress because the fatal self-inflicted gunshot occurred while police were actively attempting to arrest him following an overnight armed barricade and immediately after officers entered the motel and located him.
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Importantly, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office did not retain responsibility for investigating the death after participating in the standoff. The investigation was turned over to the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, providing an outside county investigation of the fatal encounter.
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The precise final seconds of the encounter are not described in detail in the available public accounts. The records establish that police entered the motel after Keesen stopped communicating, located him in the attic and attempted to take him into custody, followed by the fatal self-inflicted gunshot. The public reporting does not provide a detailed reconstruction of officers' positions, commands or actions immediately before Keesen fired the fatal shot.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
No police officer shot Eric Keesen. Because his death resulted from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, there is no shooting officer requiring an individual officer-background investigation.
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The law-enforcement operation was unusually large for a single-person barricade, involving the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and numerous surrounding municipal and county agencies. The primary reason for that response was that Keesen was reportedly armed with a handgun, was wanted on felony warrants and remained barricaded for more than 11 hours.
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The subsequent investigation by the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office is significant because Polk County personnel participated directly in the operation. Assigning the investigation to another county avoided having the primary sheriff’s office involved in the standoff conduct the final investigation of the resulting death itself.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.seehafernews.com/2021/09/21/rice-lake-man-identified-as-the-one-who-barricaded-himself-in-motel-for-11-hours/
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/11-hour-standoff-in-western-wisconsin-ends-with-man-dying-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound/
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/man-who-barricaded-self-died-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-in-wisconsin-identified/
https://drydenwire.com/news/armed-suspect-takes-own-life-following-an-11-hour-standoff-with-authorities/
https://drydenwire.com/news/update-suspect-who-took-his-own-life-in-standoff-identified/
https://drydenwire.com/news/rice-lake-police-department-seeking-publics-help-locating-this-subject/
https://drydenwire.com/news/man-charged-following-washburn-county-undercover-online-sex-sting-operation/
https://drydenwire.com/obituaries/eric-keesen/