Barry Cloninger

Deadly force

Police responded to a report by a neighbor (part of an ongoing dispute) that flammable liquid might have been poured down a chimney. On arrival, the Madison County Sheriff's Office alleges that Barry Cloninger pointed a shotgun in Sgt. Bill Marconi's direction and refused to drop it. Marconi fired several shots, suspect ran and was later found dead behind his house. Cloninger's widow filed lawsuit stating that Marconi did not identify himself as a sheriff's deputy and no cause to suspect him of wrongdoing. She won $96,000 in a settlement of that wrongful death lawsuit in 2015.