Thomas R. Kiefer, a 27-year-old White/Caucasian man, was a Milwaukee police officer whose routine response to a domestic disturbance turned deadly on November 25, 1977. Kiefer, who was married and had joined the Milwaukee Police Department in May 1973, was assigned to the Fifth District. At approximately 4:50 p.m., he and his partner, Officer Wayne W.
Jensen, were dispatched to 2962-B North First Street after police received a report directing them to meet a woman outside because there was a man with a shotgun inside the residence.
The disturbance involved Leon Gladney and his wife, Nola Gladney. Later court testimony established that the couple had been arguing about their son's use of the family automobile without insurance. During the argument, Leon Gladney took a shotgun from a closet. Nola went upstairs and called police, setting in motion the response that brought Kiefer and Jensen to the house.
When the officers reached the residence, Jensen positioned himself behind a pillar on the front porch to provide cover while Kiefer approached the front door and stood to its right. Kiefer knocked, rang the doorbell and announced that he was a police officer. There was no response. When he reached across and knocked again, the door opened and a shotgun blast erupted from inside the residence. Kiefer was struck in the left side of his chest. The shooting happened almost immediately after the officers' attempt to make contact, giving Kiefer little opportunity to react or defend himself.
Kiefer was rushed to County General Hospital, but the chest wound proved fatal. Milwaukee Police Department records state that he died within an hour of being shot. Gladney remained inside the residence following the shooting and barricaded himself for a short period before surrendering to police. He was taken into custody in connection with Kiefer's killing.
Leon Gladney was prosecuted for first-degree murder. He was initially found guilty of the fatal shooting and was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 14, 1978. The case later took an unusual legal course because Gladney's mental condition became a central issue. In a subsequent proceeding, he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease, and he was found to have been mentally ill at the time of the killing. In 1980, he was committed to the custody of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services.
Court records from later proceedings provided additional background about the events surrounding Kiefer's death. Nola Gladney testified that her husband had experienced repeated psychiatric hospitalizations over many years and had stopped taking his medication around the time of the shooting. She also testified that he had quit a job he had held for approximately seventeen years shortly before the incident. During a later proceeding to determine whether he could safely be released, medical testimony described his mental disorder as being in remission while he was receiving medication. A jury nevertheless determined that he should remain committed, and in 1984 the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed the recommitment order.
Kiefer's death was officially recognized as a line-of-duty killing. The Milwaukee Police Department later awarded him a posthumous Class "A" Citation, described by the department as its highest honor, for his actions during the November 25 response. What began as a call to help a woman dealing with an armed family member ended within moments of Kiefer arriving at the door, and the case continued through criminal and mental-health proceedings for years after the shooting.
