KASOTA — Several people who watched as Deputy Todd Waldron pulled his handgun and shot Tyler Heilman in the chest the afternoon of July 20 have told their story to the media, describing what happened with painful details.

But it was the witnesses who haven’t spoken publicly who swayed a grand jury after three days of testimony, said Andrew Johnson, assistant Anoka County attorney.

The jurors, which heard the first of 21 witnesses Wednesday in Le Center, deliberated for about two hours Friday evening before deciding against indicting Waldron.

They were considering whether Waldron should be charged with second-degree intentional murder or second-degree unintentional murder for killing Heilman, 24, a stay-at-home father from St. Peter.

Waldron was working in plain clothes the afternoon of July 20 when he confronted Heilman about driving erratically in Kasota and asked him for his driver’s license. There was a scuffle outside a Kasota apartment complex, Waldron pulled his gun and Heilman was lying dead on the ground, wearing only his swim trunks, moments later.

Heilman’s friends, who had been in the car with him, said there was a fight and Heilman was winning, but he was backing away when Waldron pulled his gun. They said no one knew Waldron was a Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Department investigator working undercover. They said Waldron

didn’t identify himself until after he shot.

There is more to the story, Johnson said. That information is coming from at least one witness who hasn’t talked to the media.

“There’s one witness who happened to be driving by and he saw it,” Johnson said. “His story is very similar to what the officer said and it contradicts what the witnesses at the scene said.”

Johnson said he couldn’t go into details Saturday about Waldron’s description, nor the witness’ description, of what happened.

“We will have more on that very soon,” Johnson said. “It won’t be next week. We’re thinking about a press conference in a couple weeks.”

As they sat in their Kasota living room Saturday afternoon, members of the Manderfield family weren’t swaying on their version of what happened to Heilman.

Jolene Manderfield and her children, Brooke and Eric, live in the apartment building where Heilman was killed. They were in the parking lot and watched everything.

Scott Manderfield, Brooke and Eric’s father, heard the shots and helped Jolene give Heilman CPR as Heilman bled from his chest. Heilman was wearing only the swim suit and was still wet from swimming, he said.

“When I ran outside, (Waldron) had his gun out,” Scott Manderfield said. “I asked who he was and he said he was a cop. He told me to help him flip Tyler over, then he said, ‘What have I done?’ He was running around frantic.”

Jolene and the children were all called to testify before the grand jury Wednesday. She said all of the witness who were with her went in, one at a time, and spent about 20 minutes answering questions.

“I think everybody is just shocked he wasn’t charged with anything,” Jolene Manderfield said. “I’m kind of sad because it’s not really right. I feel sorry for the family. Their son gets killed like that and there won’t even be a trial.”

Brooke Manderfield, 16, guessed there were about 30 grand jurors because, while she was testifying, someone said “juror 31” had to be dismissed because he was loosely related to Waldron. She said a couple of the jurors asked her questions, such as what she had been doing earlier that day.

She said she had been swimming at the Kasota public access to the Minnesota River with Heilman and several other people. She wasn’t in the car Heilman was driving, but arrived at the parking lot as the confrontation started.

“I was in shock,” Brooke Manderfield said. “I didn’t realize it was a real gun. I was thinking he couldn’t possibly be shooting a guy for real in the middle of the afternoon.”

Eric Manderfield, 13, still refuses to talk much about what he witnessed that day. He was in the car with Heilman and watched as everything unfolded. He was interviewed by investigators and testified to the grand jury Wednesday, but he

hasn’t said much about the incident to his family, Scott Manderfield said.

“He’s been through a lot,” Jolene Manderfield added. “That’s a lot of stress. That’s a big thing to see when you’re only 13 years old. So it’s been hard on him — hard to see something like that when he’s so young.”

The shooting has been difficult for others living in Kasota. The Manderfields and others who witnessed what happened aren’t the only people who don’t want Waldron to return to work.

“He was off his beam or something,” said Bill Sargent, a long-time Kasota resident who lives several blocks away from the Manderfields’ apartment building. “I would hate like heck to meet this guy. I can’t even understand how he can be a deputy sheriff.

“They say it was self defense. This is all so ... it’s unbelievable.”

Waldron, who couldn’t be reached for comment Saturday, has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. Sheriff Dave Gliszinski couldn’t be reached for comment either, so it wasn’t known Saturday whether Waldron will return to work immediately or face possible discipline within the department.

Johnson said the grand jury’s decision showed Waldron acted in self defense. So it wasn’t necessary to give jurors the option of choosing to indict for a less serious charge, such as manslaughter.

“If they find that force is justified, that’s a defense for manslaughter, too,” Johnson said.

Heilman’s parents, Mark Heilman and Deb Voss, have both said they plan to file a civil lawsuit against Waldron. Heilman declined to comment Saturday and Voss didn’t immediately return a telephone call from The Free Press.