Madeleine Behr

Post Crescent

OSHKOSH - Family and friends of Isaiah Tucker are looking for more clarity after he was shot and killed by an Oshkosh police officer on July 31.

"We miss him tremendously," said Rosie Harvey, Tucker's grandmother, during a vigil Saturday afternoon at the site where the shooting took place. "(Tucker's death) leaves such a void. We see it on television but we don't think it will hit this close."

Harvey was one of more than 60 family and friends who came Saturday to the home on the 300 block of Knapp Street where the 28-year-old Tucker was shot while allegedly driving a car at a police officer. Tire tracks near the home were still visible from the garage behind the home all the way to street.

The vigil was organized by family members with assistance from Tory Lowe, a Milwaukee advocate, and Daniel Storm, a private investigator who works with Walter Stern, a Kenosha attorney.

RELATED: Oshkosh police identify officers involved in fatal shooting

RELATED: Police: Man shot, killed Monday sped at officer

RELATED: GoFundMe created for Isaiah Tucker's funeral

"We are going to ask (Oshkosh police) every question in the world as to why this young man died," Storm said on Saturday.

Stern told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin he plans to investigate and evaluate the incident that led to Tucker's death and decide the next steps after that.

Earlier this week, Oshkosh police identified officers Aaron Achterberg and Kyle Roberts as the officers involved in the shooting that killed Tucker.

According to police, Achterberg and Roberts responded to a pair of calls about Tucker trying to take items from a home in the 300 block of Knapp Street at 2:30 a.m. July 31. While police said Tucker last lived in the 3400 block of Logan Drive, court records indicate he previously lived at the Knapp Street home.

After the officers arrived, Tucker drove a vehicle through a garage door before getting the car stuck in the yard, Oshkosh Police Chief Dean Smith said. As one officer tried to get Tucker out of the vehicle, Tucker accelerated, sending the vehicle toward the other officer, who was standing in the backyard.

The second officer then shot at the vehicle several times before Tucker sped away. Police have not confirmed which officer fired at Tucker and which tried to pull him from the car.

Authorities found the car several blocks away, in the 800 block of West Sixth Avenue, and a wounded Tucker hiding in a shed nearby. The Oshkosh Fire Department took Tucker to a local hospital, where he died.

Achterberg has worked for the Oshkosh Police Department for nine years, while Roberts has worked there for six years, according to a statement from the department.

The state Department of Criminal Investigations is leading the investigation into the shooting. State law requires that any officer-involved death is investigated by an outside agency.

There is body camera footage from the incident, according to Oshkosh police, which DCI will be reviewing as part of its investigation. That footage has not been publicly released.

A GoFundMe campaign was started to raise money for Tucker's funeral expenses. As of Saturday afternoon, $1,780 had been raised toward a $10,000 goal.

Tucker was 'human'

Following the shooting, there's been more scrutiny of Tucker and his life, including past run-ins with the law. Court records show Tucker previously was convicted of nearly three dozen nonviolent offenses dating back to 2008. In 2014, he was convicted of his only felony — forgery. Other convictions include nine for disorderly conduct, six for resisting an officer and two for drunken driving.

But Tucker, often called "Zay Zay" or "Zay Blue" by friends and family, was just like any other person with highs and lows, his mother, Cassandra Tucker, said.

"He was a human," she said. "As an individual, we all have our problems and issues, but if you look back at him, you wouldn't say he was violent. He loved his children."

Tucker was a father to three children, ages 7, 4 and 3. Cassandra Tucker said he was also known for his smile, practical jokes, his "smart mouth," and athletic achievements in basketball and track during high school.

"I refuse to paint a picture that he was all wonderful, but he was loving, he was caring," she said.

Madeleine Behr: 920-996-7226, or mbehr@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @madeleinebehr