GROVER, WI— Deputies with the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office have been cleared in the June death of a man in Grover, Wisconsin.
Marinette County District Attorney DeShea D. Morrow says it was due to the ingestion of large amounts of meth.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation says around midnight on June 25, deputies and a Crivitz Police officer conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of County Road B and Poplar Ridge Lane. When they approached the vehicle, the driver, Jason Kaempf of Peshtigo, appeared to put something in his mouth.
Deputies say Kaempf was chewing on something, then tried to throw it. Later, they found a piece of plastic in the passenger’s seat and a crystal-like substance in the cab of the vehicle. It tested positive for meth.
Officers asked Kaempf several times during the stop if he’d ingested meth and he denied it.
As Kaempf was being detained the back of a squad car, deputies noted his demeanor had changed. They requested the rescue squad and asked another officer to monitor him. When his condition worsened, police again asked if he’d swallowed meth. He denied it.
Deputies removed Kaempf from the squad car, started CPR while waiting for the rescue squad to arrive, administered four doses of Narcan, and used a defibrillator. Kaempf died at the scene.
Toxicology reports indicated the cause of death was acute methamphetamine intoxication.
