A 28-year veteran of the Washington County sheriff’s office was accidentally shot by a hunter as he walked a potential turkey hunting site in St. Croix County, Wis., on Tuesday, April 30.

Cmdr. Jerry Cusick was shot once with a shotgun, officials said. He was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul and was listed in good condition Tuesday afternoon.

The St. Croix County sheriff’s office said the incident happened just after 7:20 a.m. on private property in the 1900 block of 80th Street in the town of Somerset.

Cusick was unarmed and scouting the area when turkey hunter Anthony Cardarelli fired a shot, wounding the commander in the head, face, neck and shoulder, said St. Croix County Sheriff John Shilts. Cusick managed to make his way to a nearby home for help, according to a statement from the sheriff.

Cardarelli is 27 and lives in White Bear Lake.

“At least at this point, we have no indication (Cardarelli) was trying to harm Cusick,” Shilts said. “He thought what he was shooting was a turkey.”

The St. Croix sheriff’s office is investigating the shooting and considering pursuing charges. Shilts said investigators are concerned that Cardarelli did not take steps to identify what he was shooting.

“I’ve never known a human being to look like a turkey,” Shilts said.

Cusick’s injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said.

“But whenever you get shot, you never know,” Hutton said. “That’s why they’re taking all the precautions and making sure they’re aware of the extent of the injuries.”

Cusick, 53, heads the Washington County sheriff’s office court-security operations as well as the special-units division, which includes chaplain services and the water, parks and trails unit. He lives in Scandia.

Cusick also is a founding member of the St. Croix Chapter of the Minnesota Waterfowl Association.

This is the first turkey hunting-related shooting incident of the year in Wisconsin, said Bill Yearman, a recreational safety warden for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Typically, the state sees one or two such incidents a year; last year there were three, Yearman said.

“With turkey hunting, normally somebody sees some movement or some red or some blue … and (thinks), all of a sudden, that must be a turkey, and they shoot,” he said, adding that turkey hunters don’t wear blaze orange because the birds can see the color.

The DNR will be investigating, Yearman said.

The incident was the second shooting related to turkey hunting in as many years in St. Croix County. Last year, a 53-year-old Somerset woman was fatally shot when her gun accidentally discharged.

Mary Divine contributed to this report.

Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162. Follow her at twitter.com/LizMohr. Andy Rathbun can be reached at 651-228-2121. Follow him at twitter.com/andyrathbun.