UWMPD Officers Named in the On-Campus Police Shooting

Sgt. Bryan LaChapelle and Lt. Brian Switala were the two UWM police officers involved in the March 19 on-campus shooting of former UWM student Irie Payne, 30, who is now accused in a criminal complaint of pointing a gun at an officer’s head during an attempted escape.

LaChapelle shot Payne as the former UWM student struggled against Switala after LaChapelle noticed Payne reaching for a gun by the Peck School of the Arts loading dock on March 19 over UWM’s spring break, the complaint alleges.

“Sgt. LaChapelle observed Payne retrieve a firearm with his right hand with the muzzle pointed up near his head as well as the head of Lt. Switala, as they were in close proximity at this time,” the complaint reads.

You can read the complaint here:

Payne, who once studied dance at UWM and played on its club football team, is charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor: recklessly endangering safety of the officers, resisting and causing substantial bodily harm to an officer, felony bail jumping, and carrying a concealed weapon, according to the criminal complaint.

Payne was previously charged with bail jumping because, right before the shooting, he had been due in court regarding an open case from December 2017 where he allegedly fled police, carried a concealed weapon, and resisted/obstructed an officer, according to court documents issued by the Franklin Police Department. At one time, the court found Payne temporarily incompetent.

Payne’s mental health concerns are mentioned in online court records, which say that, on September 2018, “the Court suspends proceedings and further finds that the defendant is incompetent to proceed at this time, but if provided with appropriate treatment, is likely to become competent within 12 months or within the maximum sentence specified for the most serious offense, whichever is less…The defendant is committed to the Department of Health and Family Services for an indeterminate term not to exceed 12 months, or the maximum sentence specified for the most serious offense, whichever is less. DHFS shall designate the mental health institute.” It’s not clear how Payne ended up back on the streets and over at UWM.

LaChapelle has been an officer on UWM’s campus for years. In 2015, the UWM Police Department shared this photo of LaChapelle with the caption, “Happy #TBT. Check out Sgt LaChapelle taking part in some of the PD’s ‘High Risk Traffic Stop Training’ back in 2010 before he earned those Sergeant stripes.”

Switala has been in the news before. In 2015, the EDS office investigated Lt. Switala over alleged sexual misbehavior. Yet, Provost and Vice Chancellor Johannes Britz, who makes the final decision, overturned the EDS findings against Switala.

Lt. Switala was also involved in a high-profile fatal shooting of motorist Joseph Bauschek, 34, in 2003. Switala testified he feared for his life because Bauschek’s jeep drove toward him; the fatal shot pierced the back of the driver’s seat. An inquest jury found that Switala did not act in self defense but didn’t recommend charges, and none came.

Switala has served on UWM’s bicycle task force, and he can be seen standing with bicycles side-by-side with Chancellor Mark Mone in a PR photo.

UWM’s chancellor sent an email to the campus about the new charges against Payne.

“The shooting incident was an extraordinary situation and an anomaly at UWM,” Mone wrote in the campus-wide email. “We are fortunate to have an environment where people’s safety is paramount.”

Encounter at the Fine Arts Building

The criminal complaint gave the first detailed picture of what authorities say occurred during the shooting of Payne. It alleged the following:

On March 19, 2019, Sgt. LaChapelle and Lt. Switala responded to a call of a sleeping male in the Fine Arts Theater building while it was closed to the public during spring break.

During the initial confrontation, Payne resisted providing the officers with his identity. Sgt. LaChapelle found Payne had a sheathed machete, a sheathed hatchet, a mask, and a box of ammunition in his backpack.

Sgt. LaChapelle asked Payne if he had any weapons and Payne fled towards the Peck School of the Arts loading dock. Lt. Switala grabbed Payne’s left arm. While Lt. Switala and Payne struggled, Sgt. LaChapelle saw Payne reaching for a gun in his pocket that was pointed upwards at both his and Switala’s heads, the complaint alleges.

Sgt. LaChapelle fired and struck Payne who fell to the ground. Lt. Switala knocked Payne’s firearm away from him. Payne then got back up and walked towards LaChapelle “in an aggressive manner.” LaChapelle tased Payne twice before Payne was taken into custody.

Payne’s handgun, a semi-automatic pistol, was reported stolen from Wauwatosa in November 2018.

Both Payne and Lt. Switala were taken to Froedtert Hospital where Switala was treated for a concussion.

Past controversies & praise

LaChapelle was featured in a positive feature story by UWM’s PR office in May 2018. It reported that a then 8-year-old girl who has visited multiple states to give officers hugs showed up at UWM and gave hugs to four police officers, one of whom was LaChapelle.

“It’s nice, it’s really nice,” LaChapelle said in the article. “Sometimes it’s important to get a good hug.” The article said that LaChapelle and the other officers “all promised to bring some of Rosalyn’s hugs back to campus.”

In 2014, LaChapelle was quoted in a Media Milwaukee article about how difficult a student journalist had found it to get information out of the UWM Police Department. However, he found LaChapelle willing to speak.

“I spoke to Sgt. Bryan LaChapelle. LaChapelle was the first officer I encountered willing to answer my questions about UWM police media relations. LaChapelle neither confirmed nor denied whether UWM Police have ever videotaped a media interview,” the student journalist wrote.

In 2011, the Milwaukee Police Department singled LaChapelle out for praise on social media along with other UWM officers for their investigation of a shooting that stemmed from an alcohol-fueled bar fight.

A 2007 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on LaChapelle’s efforts to use social media in police work at UWM. He was using Facebook to “root out campus crime,” the story reported.

Lt. Switala was previously covered by Media Milwaukee during the investigation into on-campus sexual harassment earlier last year.

In 2015, The Office of Equity and Diversity Services found Lt. Switala, then a sergeant, engaged in sexual misbehavior, according to documents obtained by Media Milwaukee. Then-Sgt. Switala, now Lt. Switala, allegedly made sexual jokes about a CPR mannequin, sexual innuendos regarding other female officers, and openly discussed his penis size, according to case documents.

The provost recommended to the then-newly hired Police Chief Joseph LeMire that the UWM Police Department consider improving the police force climate. LeMire then promoted then-Sgt. Switala to lieutenant. Following the 2015 investigation, EDS recommended sexual harassment awareness training for UWMPD employees.

However, Provost Johannes Britz overturned the EDS finding of sexual harassment against Switala. At the time, the university’s spokewoman told Media Milwaukee: “Specifically as to then-Sgt. Switala, the provost found that several of the allegations made against him were meritless and others occurred years ago when he was not a supervisory officer. As a result, the provost concluded that Sgt. Switala’s conduct was not sexual harassment.”

The continued investigation into the March 19 shooting is led by the Oak Creek Police Department in compliance with standard guidelines following an officer-involved shooting.

Payne remained in custody and has an active no-contact order with the UWM campus, Mone wrote in a campus-wide email.