MADISON (WKOW) — One of two state law enforcement agents who fired their weapons at an unarmed suspect has been charged.

Court records show Mark Wagner, 49, was charged with one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon Thursday.

Wagner had his initial appearance in Dane County Circuit Court Thursday morning and was given a $500 signature bond.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) led the investigation into the shooting of Quadren Wilson, 38. A total of 21 officers from five different agencies were involved in Wilson’s arrest on a parole violation and drug investigation.

During that arrest, two special agents with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation fired their weapons. The DCSO identified them as Nathan Peskie and Mark Wagner.

The entire criminal complaint is attached to this article below. It states the five agencies discussed several methods by which to arrest Wilson, and ended up using what’s called a ‘Subject In Custody’ maneuver. The complaint describes this maneuver as one where “law enforcement pins a subject’s vehicle between two law enforcement vehicles, with the goal of taking the subject into custody from the vehicle.”

Wilson’s vehicle was pinned on Eastpark Boulevard and American Parkway on Madison’s far east side, and three special agents — including Peskie and Wagner, approached. The complaint says SA Wagner was carrying a ballistic shield and a DCI-issued Sig Saur P320 9mm firearm. SA Peskie was carrying a Colt model AR-15 rifle.

“Wagner demonstrated how he carried his shield with his left hand and his firearm was in his right hand. Wagner stated he had his firearm drawn and positioned forward, in front of and to the right of the shield,” the complaint states.

In an interview with sheriff’s detectives, Wagner said he “began giving verbal commands” to Wilson as he approached the car. He recalled repeatedly yelling “Police, police, police, let’s see your hands, let’s see your hands.”

According to the complaint, Wagner said he was not touching Wilson’s car while approaching for two reasons — Wilson was trying to get away by spinning the tires and Wagner said he could see better through the tinted windows of the vehicle at that distance.

While approaching, Wagner saw Wilson “fidgeting with something in the center console area with his right hand” but “could not get a visual on [Wilson’s] left hand,” the complaint stated. Wagner says he saw Wilson move his right shoulder forward and turn to the left and stated, “I thought, 'Now he has a gun.'”

“Wagner stated he heard a gunshot and felt something hit him and push him backwards. Wagner stated his shield moved backwards and he thought, ‘He’s shooting me.’ Wagner stated he pulled his handgun trigger and this all happened quickly and he thought he fired his handgun almost simultaneously with hearing the gunshot,” the complaint states.

Investigators asked Wagner why he fired his weapon and the complaint quotes him as saying “I was trying to stop him from shooting me. I was trying to stop him from shooting Nate [Special Agent Peskie].”

Wagner believed he fired one round from his handgun, the complaint states. It was later determined two rounds were missing from his firearm.

After firing his weapon, Wagner fell and the complaint states he thought he heard three additional gunshots.

Special Agent Nathan Peskie was also interviewed by Dane County Sheriff’s detectives. Peskie stated he and Wagner were “shoulder to shoulder” while approaching Wilson’s car and corroborated that Wagner gave commands such as “Stop, police” to Wilson.

Peskie told detectives he thought he saw an object that looked like a gun in Wilson’s right hand.

“SA Peskie remembered [Wilson] looked directly at them and [Wilson] had his right hand up in the shape of a fist and he was a ‘square object’ in his hand and it looked like a ‘muzzle of a gun,’” the complaint states.

At nearly the same time as this observation, the complaint states Peskie saw a “hole punched” through the driver’s side window, and Wagner fell.

“SA Peskie thought SA Wagner had been shot and believed the bullet went through the driver side window and hit SA Wagner and killed him,” the complaint states. “SA Peskie stated he responded by firing his rifle down into [Wilson’s] vehicle. SA Peskie stated he fired three to five times down into the vehicle and all of the shots occurred within one second.”

SA Peskie told detectives he was trained to flip his rifle safety off when he is ready to fire his weapon. “SA Peskie stated after SA Wagner went down, he switched his safety off and fired his rifle at [Wilson] and then immediately switched the rifle safety back on,” the complaint states.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has previously stated investigators found no evidence to indicate Wilson was armed. The complaint states “no additional evidence related to firearms were located” when a K-9 searched Wilson’s vehicle.

The complaint states Wilson was “hit in the lower back by five metal fragments from one fired bullet.” The complaint doesn't make clear from what gun the bullet is from. 

Wilson's lawyer, Steve Eisenberg, previously provided 27 News with a page from Wilson’s medical records showing the initial evaluation by trauma doctors.

According to the notes, Wilson was brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds. First responders reported "two wounds in the back” and reported the patient “does not tolerate being on his back at all… Shot while in a vehicle.”

Once Wilson arrived at the hospital, the emergency room doctors were able to do a more thorough evaluation, and the notes indicated they also observed a “wound to lower left chest,” and after a “log roll,” doctors further noted “five wounds total and a laceration.”

The complaint states two of the shots fired during the arrest came from SA Wagner’s firearm. In regard to SA Peskie’s rifle, he indicated there were two 30-round rifle magazines, loaded with 28 rounds each, and when a deputy checked the rifle after the shooting, “there were 23 rounds present with this rifle, which included one round that was in the chamber.”

WKOW 27 News reached out to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, who made the charging decision, with follow-up questions to clarify exactly why Wagner was charged. Ozanne said he was not able to speak about specifics of the case.

WKOW 27 News has requested a transcript of what was said at Wagner's court hearing. 

Quadren Wilson’s attorney, Steve Eisenberg, told WKOW 27 News Thursday he believes the arrest was reckless from the start.

"Why didn't they just wait? Who came up with this bright idea that we're going to take down this guy like he's Osama bin Laden? It is ridiculous and the entire reckless behavior started at that point, and again, this cop, these cops are supposed to be trained," Eisenberg said. 

Attorney General Josh Kaul, who heads up the Wisconsin Department of Justice, issued a statement regarding SA Wagner’s charges:

“DOJ will not be weighing in on the facts of this case as it moves through the judicial system in order to avoid having any possible impact on the outcome. DOJ is evaluating this matter internally and will continue to do so to the extent possible without interfering with the ongoing case.”

Wagner is scheduled for a status conference October 28.

Editor's Note: In a previous news report, WKOW 27 News incorrectly identified Special Agent Mark Wagner as the same Mark Wagner who was involved in a 2002 shooting while working as a Milwaukee Police officer. In that report, 27 News used an image of a different Mark Wagner who has since filed a defamation lawsuit against WKOW. Upon learning of the mistake, WKOW 27 News immediately took the image and web story off its website and issued a correction online and on air. We have since learned there are three men named Mark Wagner who previously worked for the Milwaukee Police Department. We write this editor's note to ensure no one is confused about the DCI Special Agent's identity. DCI Special Agent Mark Wagner, 49, was not involved in a 2002 shooting.

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