Man Charged with Murdering WI Officer was 4 Days Out of Prison

The man charged with killing Racine, WI, Police Officer John Hetland was released from federal prison just four days before the veteran officer was shot during a robbery.

Hetland was off duty when he was fatally shot June 17 during a robbery at Teezers Bar and Grill.

His alleged killer Dalquavis T. Ward, 26, of Milwaukee, had just gotten out of prison June 13 after serving a sentence for armed robbery, federal Bureau of Prisons records show.

Ward appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin on Friday afternoon and was ordered detained in the Kenosha County Jail on a probation violation, according to minutes of the brief hearing filed in his federal court file. Ward is set to appear before U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper July 25 for a revocation hearing. 

Also Friday, Kenosha County prosecutors charged Ward with first-degree intentional homicide, with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery and possessing a gun as a felon, the Journal Sentinel reports.

According to the complaint, surveillance video shows Ward approaching Teezers on foot from the west about 9:37 p.m.

Video inside the bar allegedly shows him going directly to the cash register and demanding money while pointing a black handgun.

The bartender put the money in Ward's left hand. While he was distracted by the money, Hetland climbed over the bar and fought with Ward about 14 seconds before being pushed about 2 feet away by Ward, who then fired a single shot, the complaint says.