Roger Hoeppner, in dispute with city about tractors on property, learns from 911 call why BearCat and 24 officers had arrived

Marathon County sits in the center of the state of Wisconsin. The rural area has a little more than 135,400 residents and is the heart of the US’ ginseng growing industry. It is also the proud owner of a BearCat armored vehicle, which was used this month to draw a 75-year-old man out of his home because he owed $80,000 to the town in which he was born and raised.

The man, Roger Hoeppner, owns about 20 acres of land that has been the subject of a battle between him and the city in recent years. Earlier this month, nestled between the antique tractors he restores and the wood pallets he uses for his business, were 24 police officers, and, eventually, the armored truck.

“I just don’t understand why a dollar and a half of postage on an envelope that I would have had to pick up at the Wausau post office wouldn’t have done the same thing as 24 officers and an armored vehicle,” Hoeppner told the Guardian.

Marathon County sheriff’s department acquired the BearCat in 2011, though it is better known in the community as a MARV, which stands for Marathon County Response Vehicle. The department also has a bomb truck, sniper van and dive van. Last year, its Swat team responded to nine calls: seven for high risk warrants or subject apprehension, one for a suicidal subject and one for surveillance, according to the department’s annual report from 2013.

How the police will classify this incident is still unclear, though Hoeppner’s lawyer said he is looking into it.

Marathon County sheriff’s captain Greg Bean declined to answer multiple requests for comment, but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the large police presence was called in because law enforcement officials expected they would have to seize large equipment. He also defended the decision to use the armored vehicle because he said it can save time, money and increases safety in such situations.

“I’ve been involved in about five standoff situations where, as soon as the MARV showed up, the person gives up,” Bean told the Journal Sentinel.

Hoeppner has for years been embroiled in a legal battle with the city of Stettin, which has just over 2,500 residents, according to the 2010 US census.

The city sued him in 2008 because of the state of his property, which sits off of a major highway and is packed with wood pallets and land equipment. They complained again in 2010, saying he had not complied with an order to clean up the property, at which point a judge intervened. The city did not approve of adjustment he made to his land and in 2011 a judge authorized the town to take away some of his items. A final judgement was issued in April 2013, with Hoeppner receiving a $500 fine every day he did not comply. He lost an appeal in March – bringing the total he owed to $80,000.

When police arrived at his door on 2 October, Hoeppner said he was sorting medication into pill containers. Then, he looked out his windows to see police officers surrounding his home and claims that he learned what was going on from a 911 operator he called because of the police presence.

“I looked out the window and see a bunch of officers out there, a bunch of cars and I didn’t know what the devil was going on, so I talked to the 911 operator over there,” Hoeppner said.

The same day as the police intervention, Hoeppner paid out the sum, with officers escorting him to the bank he said he has been going to for 50 years. He said the incident depleted his 401k and caused his wife Marjorie to go to the hospital because of distress. “The United States is not supposed to terrorize its hardworking people,” Hoeppner said.

Police militarization in the US faced renewed criticism this summer as images of stun grenades, rubber bullets and armored vehicles permeated coverage of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

While places like Marathon County have defended their acquisition of this type of equipment, other cities like Davis, California, have voted to return the vehicles.

“Our police in Davis have done a tremendous amount to build the trust in the community. They’re fantastic,” Davis mayor pro tempore Robb Davis said before the city’s vote. “I really felt this particular piece of equipment there was a real strong risk of beginning to damage and wear away that trust.”