1 dead, officer injured in Neenah standoff

NEENAH - One man was killed and a police officer was injured in a hostage situation that effectively closed downtown Neenah for hours Saturday.

A man was arrested at the scene shortly after 1 p.m., Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said at a news conference Saturday evening.

The man who died was shot at by officers when he came out of the business and refused to drop a gun, Wilkinson said. He is not the same man who police think started the disturbance and reportedly fired one or more shots inside the business, he said. Police do not know if the man they shot at was also shot inside the business during the disturbance.

Link: Timeline of events

Wilkinson declined Saturday to release the names of the man who started the disturbance, the officer and the man who died. He said it was normal for the man who died to be at that business.

Wilkinson said police were called for a disturbance at Eagle Nation Cycles in the 200 block of Main Street shortly before 9 a.m. They initially thought a man had fired at least one shot from a gun and that he had taken hostages.

At about 9:20 a.m., Neenah police learned that hostages were in immediate danger of being killed, Wilkinson said. Officers stormed the building to rescue the hostages and were fired on, Wilkinson said.

One of the officers was hit on his helmet, which deflected the bullet. Officers retreated and the injured officer was taken to Theda Clark Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

"I would certainly anticipate if it can be shown that he is the one who fired the weapon that struck our officer that he would be criminally charged with attempted homicide," Wilkinson said. "That's not our call, obviously, that's the the district attorney's call."

A short time later, a man left the business carrying a gun and did not drop the weapon when officers told him to, Wilkinson said. At least one officer shot at him.

Gold Cross Ambulance took the man to Theda Clark Medical Center, where he later died, Wilkinson said.

Police don't know what sparked the confrontation.

"I'm not sure exactly what it was that he was upset about or why he chose this kind of behavior today," Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson could not confirm how many people were in the building during the confrontation.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate whether the man who died was shot by Neenah police. Late Saturday afternoon a Post-Crescent reporter saw a Department of Justice truck at the scene.

"It's unfortunate that this happens anywhere," Wilkinson said. "But as we saw last May with the Trestle Trail incident, tragedy can strike anywhere, and the reality for law enforcement is even if you're in a small, rural area, you had best have some training and equipment to deal with those kinds of things."

Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert estimated 30 shots were fired during the incident. Police from multiple agencies cordoned off several blocks for more than five hours, guns drawn, as the drama unfolded.

"It's every community's nightmare," Kaufert said from the scene early Saturday afternoon.

It wasn't until 1:30 p.m. that Wilkinson said everything appeared to be safe at the scene. A Post-Crescent reporter saw one person come out with hands in the air. Two officers escorted that person away. Afterward, officers moved bystanders and media to a farther location but could still be heard yelling for someone else to come out.

Anyone within a quarter mile of Main Street and Doty Avenue was asked to stay inside until officers told them otherwise. Police asked that the public avoid the area of Main Street between downtown and the bridge.

"There were a lot of shots fired," Wilkinson said.

Gold Cross Ambulance, the Winnebago County SWAT team, an Outagamie County rescue vehicle, Neenah police and officers from other neighboring agencies were on the scene. Wilkinson estimated 75 to 80 police officers were involved.

"I'm very proud of skills shown by our officers," Wilkinson said.

Neenah police said on Twitter that a number of homes and businesses in the area were evacuated. Police also tried to prevent bystanders from getting too close to the scene throughout the day.

Eagle Nation Cycles and its owner, Steven Erato, have been in the news before.

In July, police arrested a man for shooting out windows at the motorcycle shop.

Also, the shop, Erato and three other people connected to the business, filed a $50 million federal lawsuit claiming their rights were violated during a September 2012 drug raid. The ongoing suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Green Bay in late 2014, alleged emotional and psychological trauma and ostracism as a result of the raid.

“The hyper-militarized force parked an armored tank-like vehicle outside Eagle Nation, stormed the building, bombarding the occupants with assault weapons drawn, screaming profanities and abuse, all while wearing plain clothes (ununiformed) and face masks,” the lawsuit says.

The suit named the city of Neenah, Neenah Police Department, Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson, Capt. Tom Long, Winnebago County and Winnebago County Judge Scott Woldt as defendants.

The 2012 raid resulted in 15 felony charges against Erato. He was eventually convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana, but all other charges were dismissed.

Alison Dirr: 920-993-1000, ext. 430, or alison.dirr@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @AlisonDirr; Ethan Safran: 920-993-1000, ext. 426, or esafran@gannett.com; on Twitter @EthanSafran​