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Posted at: 10/12/2009 6:19 PM
By: Becky Nahm

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No Answers After Man Killed by Le Sueur Deputy


Tyler Heilman

Officer Todd Waldron


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Three months after a Le Sueur County Deputy shot and killed a man in Kasota, there's still no clear answer why. And the incident seems to have changed the community's relationship with law enforcement.

On July 20, Deputy Todd Waldron pulled over Tyler Heilman in a parking lot. Heilman was reporting wearing only swimming trunks. After a confrontation Heilman was shot and killed.

Now, the woman who saw Heilman take his last breath is telling her story publicly for the first time.

Heilman's friend Paige Manderfield said she's talking now, because authorities are not.

Manderfield said, "When Tyler got shot, we didn't see a badge or anything. He (Waldron) was in regular street clothes. We just thought he was a normal person."

Heilman's friends still gather at his gravesite. Their grief has turned to anger over the unanswered questions.

Heilman's friend Robert Berg blames deputy Waldron.

Berg said, "I think he should be terminated as a police officer and he should be in prison."

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigators are in the process of re-interviewing witnesses.

However, Manderfield said that no one has contacted her since the night of the shooting.

Manderfield said, "He's up in heaven resting in peace but that doesn't mean this is going away."

The Anoka County Attorney wouldn't tell 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS how long it will take to decide whether to file charges in the case.