Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Taxpayers will likely be on the hook for more than $1,500 in wages and overtime racked up Monday when Shawano County’s Special Response Team was called out to respond to reports of gunshots that turned out to be fireworks.
Two teens, who allegedly wanted to “mess with” police, according to the criminal complaint, set off fireworks within a residence in the 600 block of Lieg Avenue in Shawano.
Police responded shortly after 12 a.m. to reports of possible gunshots at the residence and also heard loud explosive bangs coming from inside.
Police attempted telephone contact and then used a public address system to request the occupants exit the home.
Chief Mark Kohl said police could see the two males repeatedly peeking out the window during the incident.
The occupants refused to exit and the Shawano County Special Response Team was summoned for assistance. The SRT also requested Brown County’s Bearcat armored vehicle.
The home owner, who was not on scene, was contacted and gave police permission to enter the residence.
Kohl said police also learned from the home owner that a 13-year-old girl was in the residence. It was believed she might be in danger, Kohl said.
Officers, with the assistance of the county SRT, were ultimately able to gain entrance.
A 19-year-old Shawano man and an 18-year-old Clintonville man were taken into custody on charges of disorderly conduct and failure to comply with law enforcement.
The 13-year-old girl was released to a family member.
Police found fireworks debris in the home but no weapons.
According to the criminal complaint, the girl told authorities that the two male teens were “just trying to make the cops mad and mess with them, so they were lighting off fireworks.”
According to an expense sheet filed with the Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney’s Office, the Special Response Team’s call-out to the incident resulted in $1,546.82 in wages and overtime for the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.
That doesn’t include the time put in by Shawano police officers who responded.
Nine members of the county’s SRT were involved in the 3½-hour standoff.
District Attorney Greg Parker said current law covering restitution does not allow for the costs of SRT or SWAT team responses to be recovered.
He cited an opinion handed down in a 2001 state Court of Appeals case that found those costs were “general internal operating expenses” incurred in the normal course of police operation.
“Under current law it is unlikely that either of these defendants will be held financially responsible for their actions in this case,” Parker said.
Both teens were ordered held on $500 cash bonds after a hearing Tuesday.
The Clintonville teen, who also faces a misdemeanor bail jumping charge, is scheduled for an adjourned initial court appearance Friday.
The Shawano teen is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Jan. 5.
They could each face a maximum nine months imprisonment and $10,000 fine for obstructing an officer, if found guilty, and 90 days imprisonment and a $1,000 fine for disorderly conduct.
The Leader does not name suspects charged in misdemeanor cases.