OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – Brian Flatoff will be allowed to represent himself at his upcoming trial for allegedly initiating a 2015 standoff at Eagle Nation Cycles in Neenah that resulted in police fatally shooting a man.
A Winnebago County judge Wednesday approved the motion from Flatoff’s attorneys — the ninth and tenth lawyers assigned to the case — to withdraw, and for Flatoff to defend himself.
The two-week trial is scheduled to start March 5, more than two years after the December, 2015 event.
The incident ended after police officers shot and killed one of the hostages, M.L. Funk.
Flatoff faces 16 charges, including two counts of attempted homicide, for allegedly firing at police officers, and felony murder for allegedly initiating the sequence of events which led to Funk’s death.
A defense motion to dismiss one count of conspiracy to commit murder was denied.
However, two of the counts — one for possession of a firearm by a felon, another of recklessly endangering safety — are for an incident hours before the standoff at a woman’s home and will be handled separately.
The Neenah police officers who fired at Funk were cleared of any criminal liability.
A wrongful death suit brought by Funk’s widow against the city was dismissed.
