Man fatally shot in back of Pleasant Prairie squad car was 'a big goofball' who had recently expressed suicidal thoughts, family says

 

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- On Thursday afternoon, multiple local police department cars and ambulances filled the streets near Sheridan Rd at 54th Street.

It was that busy scene that caught the attention of Kenosha's Kailah Bergstrom, who was heading to work after dropping her three children off on the city's south side.

"I was watching all these police, the ambulance pulled up, I pulled out my phone like most millennials do and started filming," Bergstrom said.

It wouldn't be until several hours later that she learned her short iPhone video would strike close to home.

“What kills me is I filmed it thinking it was just another thing in downtown Kenosha to be nosy about, never even knowing it was my own family," Bergstrom told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White. 

According to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department (PPPD), around 3:45 p.m. on July 20, officers had arrested a man for "weapons related offenses."

He was being taken to the Kenosha County Jail by two Pleasant Prairie PD officers for criminal charges, when "officers heard a gunshot from the backseat prisoner portion of the squad," a PPPD Facebook statement said. "Preliminary information indicates the arrestee suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a concealed weapon not located in the initial search by officers. Life saving measures were attempted, however the arrestee was pronounced deceased at the scene."

A police source confirmed to CBS 58 the man is 36-year-old Jacob Albright, and that he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. 

Bergstrom said Albright is her uncle. 

"Jake was a big, giant goofball. Some people always said he was like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo," Bergstrom said. "He was kind of wild, crazy, and definitely a troublemaker. He would've gone to bat for anybody. He took better care of other people than himself."

Bergstrom said she initially alerted to the family connection through social media comments and messages.

She began calling officials from Kenosha, Racine and Pleasant Prairie.

“I told them, you know, like I’m hearing it might’ve been my uncle who took his life outside of the jail today," Bergstrom said.

It wasn't until around 1 a.m. when Bergstrom and her family were gathered at Albright's elderly father's house in Somers, when they said officials knocked on the door.

“They told us it was a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, he’s been pronounced deceased," Bergstrom said. "We're out there til like 3 o'clock in the morning."

Bergstrom added that her uncle was out on bond after a physical altercation with his father a few weeks prior. 

According to family, he had also been expressing suicidal thoughts.

“Mental illness is invisible and there’s a major crisis in this country and he’s just another one who fell through the cracks," Bergstrom said. "They just kept throwing him back in jail for all of this stuff he kept doing and not even once did any literally help him.”

And it's the moments leading up to his death that the family said don't make sense.

“He was arrested for a weapons offense, and he was allowed to be put in the squad car, in your custody, with a weapon?" Bergstrom said. “How do you get a 6’3” man in your backseat, who’s able to slip his handcuffs and pull out a concealed firearm, and shoot himself in the head with not one, but two police officers in the front seat?”

CBS 58 reached out to Pleasant Prairie Police Chief Dave Smetana, who responded with this statement: 

"We will not be doing any interviews beyond the statement that was released last evening. The questions you raised in your email will be answered by the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Racine County Sherriff’s Office."

CBS 58 also reached out to the Racine Co. Sheriff's Office, who responded with this statement: 

"I can confirm that the Racine County Sheriff’s Office has been tasked with investigating the incident you referenced, and the members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation. Once completed, these investigations are normally reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office to determine if any criminal laws were violated.  All further inquiries should be directed to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department."