NEENAH, Wis (WSAU-Wheeler News) Charges are expected this week against a 45-year-old man suspected of causing Saturday’s hostage situation in Neenah in which police shot-and-killed a man. Brian Flatoff was booked into the Winnebago County Jail on a possible charge of first-degree reckless endangerment.
Police say Flatoff went into the Eagle Nation Cycles’ shop and took several hostages. One of those hostages was reported to be a co-founder of the business, 60-year-old Michael Funk. Officials say he was running off when he did not comply with an order to drop a gun — and police shot him to death. The state Justice Department is investigating the officers’ actions.
Funk is the 12th person in Wisconsin to be killed by police this year. That’s according to a national tally by the Washington Post.
Shop owner Steve Erato and Funk have a $50-million federal lawsuit that’s pending. It accuses officials of violating their civil rights in a drug raid on the store more than three years ago.
