Dawes County sheriff's deputies and Nebraska state troopers patrolled the streets of Crawford on Friday in the wake of the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old burglary suspect by local law enforcement officers.

Crawford Police Chief Rick Thompson and Game and Parks Commission conservation officer Dan Kling had been placed on administrative leave after the Wednesday shooting that killed Jesse Britton, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Such leave is commonly ordered when a shooting occurs, pending the completion of an investigation.

Dawes County Sheriff Karl Dailey said his office and the State Patrol were temporarily patrolling in the city.

"We're just helping them out. This is not an everyday occurrence," the sheriff said.

Dailey said he had recommended to Crawford officials that his department patrol the city for a couple days to "give things a chance to settle down" and to give the two Crawford police officers who were not suspended some time to fill out reports.

A member of Britton's family complained that only the Crawford police chief, and not two other Crawford police officers at the scene, had been placed on administrative leave.

"I think it's in very poor taste for the Crawford City Council and mayor to reinstate two of the officers involved," said Michael Britton, Jesse's uncle.

Crawford Mayor L.J. Moloney, through a spokesman, declined to comment.

An eyewitness said that chief and the conservation officer entered a vacant bar in Crawford on Wednesday morning. They were responding to reports of a break-in at the Frontier Bar, which had been closed for more than two years.

Shots were fired, and the teen was killed, Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug has said.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, although Haug had not explained if Jesse Britton had the gun or if it had been fired.

Two other Crawford officers, Matt Moore and Paul Kimminau, were at the scene but were not in the bar at the time of the shooting.

In Crawford, residents were still asking questions about the shooting, which prompted a vigil of about 200 people at the abandoned bar.

A temporary fence was erected around the bar Friday, although messages written on the building during the vigil remained visible.

Some said, "We Miss You Jesse" and "We Love You Little Man."

Thompson, who was hired as chief in 1999, has been the subject of criticism while in Crawford.

Four years ago, then-Mayor Georgia Keightly suspended Thompson for issuing an unauthorized press release.

Earlier this year, a Crawford resident, Dennis Lyons, took out a full-page ad in the Chadron Record newspaper criticizing the chief and the town's decision to employ him.

Thompson, 55, has been certified as a Nebraska law enforcement officer since 1983. He has previously served with police departments in Clarkson and Gothenburg, and with sheriff's offices in Deuel and Garden Counties. He also worked as a police officer for five years, between 1991 and 1996, at Newcastle, Wyo.
Kling, 38, graduated from the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in 2003. He has served as Loup County sheriff until taking a job as a game warden in 2006. He is stationed in Whitney, which is 11 miles northeast of Crawford.

Game and Parks Commission officials declined to comment about Kling.

Britton, a junior at Crawford High School, but had run away from his home in Crawford about two weeks ago. Townspeople said it appeared he had been living in the abandoned bar.

Local residents said the shooting had followed a series of burglaries at Crawford businesses and residents. In one burglary, a .22-cal. pistol was taken. Marty Roos, who lives just behind Jesse Britton's home in Crawford, said the handgun, but no ammunition, was taken from his residence last weekend. He said he had reported the theft to the local police.

Officials have not disclosed what kind of handgun was found in the vacant bar, or if it was linked to the burglary.