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July 22, 2009

Friends, family of shooting victim protest

Peaceful crowd gathers seeking answers

By Amanda Dyslin

LE CENTER — On one side of a tree on the lawn of the Le Sueur County Courthouse and jail sat a sign that read “R.I.P. Tyler. ... Murder ... and on leave ... should be in jail.”

On the other side of the tree stood the mother of Tyler Heilman, the 24-year-old shot to death during a scuffle in Kasota by Le Sueur County Sheriff’s investigator Todd Waldron.

Heilman’s mother, Deb Voss, stood mostly quiet Tuesday evening, arms crossed, as about 30 family and friends gathered on the courthouse lawn and the surrounding sidewalk in pouring rain, spraypainting signs and protesting the fact Waldron had not been arrested, but rather put on paid administrative leave. (For details about the incident, see accompanying story.)

“I want to see justice for my son,” Voss said. “He murdered my only son.”

Voss learned about Heilman’s death from a phone call she received from his girlfriend. She didn’t know what to think, she said. “I was in shock.”

Voss says she can’t understand what would cause an officer to fire several shots at her son, who she described as happy-go-lucky and loving, when he was only wearing swim trunks and clearly did not have a weapon.

She said no one from the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office has contacted her to offer an explanation, or even to tell her where her son’s body was taken. She later learned his body is at the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office.

Funeral plans are on hold until Voss knows when his body will be released. Until then, she said, and perhaps for a long time after, coming to terms with the loss just isn’t possible.

“We can’t,” she said. “We’re never going to come to terms with it.”

From the remarks made from Heilman’s friends, it was clear they felt the same way.

“Our so-called law needs to put him in jail,” said Kris Hoehn, a witness to the shooting. “He had 80 pounds on him. ... What about handcuffs? What about pepper spray?”

Various protesters carried signs reading “Murderer” and “Justice for the Murdered,” among other things. The crowd remained calm, at times walking and chanting “Tyler,” and a couple of others waved and made remarks at an officer watching out the window.

“This isn’t going away, sheriff. This isn’t going away,” said Heilman’s aunt, Vicki Nielsen.

Many were quick to talk about their lost friend.

“He was friends with everybody,” said Bradley Niederriter, who said he would have attended the protest even if he hadn’t known Heilman because of the circumstances. “There should be more people here. ... It’s just rain.”

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