Wisconsin tribe asks federal officials to probe teen’s death

MADISON, Wis. – A northern Wisconsin tribe wants federal officials to investigate why a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a teenager on the tribe’s reservation.

Ashland County Sheriff’s Deputy Brock Mrdjenovich shot and killed 14-year-old Jason Pero on Nov. 8 on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation.

The state Department of Justice says Pero lunged at Mrdjenovich with a butcher knife. That agency is still investigating the incident.

WDIO-TV reported Thursday that the Bad River tribal council doesn’t agree with the state’s account and has asked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to investigate.