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Complaint demanding Neenah Police Chief step down

Complaint: Wilkinson has lost community's trust
Posted at 11:57 PM, Aug 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-17 00:57:41-04

NEENAH, WI -- Two legal consultants have filed a complaint against Neenah's police chief, demanding that he step down.

The complaint is critical of Chief Kevin Wilkinson's handling of the officer involved shooting death of Michael Funk in 2015.
 
This complaint has been filed on behalf of Funk, his family, his business partner Steven Erato, and two hostages, among others. It's been authored by investigative consultants Ira Robins, and Salvatore Rastrelli.
 
And it's critical of more than the police chief.
 
The complaint's authors say officers Craig Hoffer and Robert Ross had no valid reason to shoot Funk, as he posed no threat.
 
Funk was shot and killed by police after exiting Eagle Nation motorcycle shop during a hostage situation in December of 2015, in which the suspect Brian Flatoff was holding Funk and others inside the shop at gunpoint.
 
It's also critical of Neenah police's hostage negotiator, along with a police Sergeant at the scene.
 
But its authors focus on Chief Wilkinson, claiming he failed to take action against Hoffer, instead awarding him. 
 
"They didn't even give aid to Michael Funk, and, once he's down on the ground, he twitched a little bit, and they shot him twice more," says Robins, "and these officers got awards for that, but they weren't taken to task for their improper violations."
 
In May the WI Department of Justice determined officers feared an imminent threat, and weren't criminally responsible for Funk's death. 
 
Police say Funk did have a gun on him when he was shot.
 
We reached out to the president of the Neenah Police Commission for comment. But our calls, and e-mails, were not returned by news time.