www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/MAN0101/304180046/1984Sheboygan man killed after aiming gun at cop
Alan Gee described as suicidal before incident
Gannett Wisconsin Media
A 47-year-old man described by his daughter as suicidal was shot and killed Thursday after aiming a loaded rifle at a Sheboygan police officer, police said.
Alan Gee, of 620 National Ave., was shot by a 12-year veteran of the Sheboygan Police Department, police said. The shooting occurred about 10:10 a.m. on Gee's north-side property as officers responded to his daughter's 911 call.
"I think my dad's going to commit suicide in the garage," the daughter, who is in her early 20s, told a 911 dispatcher. "He said, 'You were right, you guys don't need me anymore.'"
The woman stayed on the phone as Gee took a gun to his garage, climbed into his truck and drove around the block. As two officers approached the property, Gee parked in the alley, walked into his garage and picked up a .22-caliber rifle, said Chief David Kirk.
Gee, standing in the garage, aimed the weapon at a 35-year-old officer, who was standing about 25 feet away just outside the garage. When Gee ignored commands to lower the weapon, the officer fired a single shot from his department-issue AR-15 assault rifle, striking Gee in the head.
Kirk said Gee left the officer no choice.
"I have no concerns. I don't think that this is complicated," the chief said. "I feel that the officer acted with the proper police procedures in this matter. To be confronted by a man who has a rifle pointed at you — it's a dangerous job."
Gee was taken to Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center and later transferred by helicopter to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he was pronounced dead shortly after noon, Kirk said. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
The department has started an investigation into the shooting, which when complete will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for review, Kirk said. Police declined to release the officer's name until the report is complete.
Gina Gotiear-Meyer, 50, who lives across the street from Gee's home, said the news hit her hard Thursday. She returned from work shortly after the shooting.
"That was my neighbor I had known for 13 years," she said. "I just feel really bad for (his wife) and the kids."
Gotiear-Meyer said Gee was a quiet man who was unemployed due to a disability. He lived at the home with his wife, father, two daughters and a grandchild.
"He was pretty quiet; the whole family kind of (kept) to themselves," she said. "I thought he was a good neighbor. … In the summertime, when my son was younger, Al was always working on trucks, and my son always had some raggedy piece of car he was consulting Al about."
In the hours after the shooting, police cordoned off Gee's home — a green, two-story residence with peeling paint — as well as several adjoining yards. More than a dozen police officers, detectives and supervisors descended on the home.
Kirk said police do not yet know what led to Gee's actions. The man has no history of suicidal or violent behavior that police are aware of, the chief said.
"Sometimes things occur that make no sense at the time, and hopefully we can make some sense of this," Kirk said.
Three weeks ago, police arrested Gee at his home after executing a search warrant, and he was later charged with felony marijuana possession and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show. His only criminal conviction in Wisconsin was in 1997 on a charge of misdemeanor marijuana possession, records show.
Kirk said the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on an alternative assignment. The officer went home early Thursday and will meet with a debriefing team that convenes after officers are involved in traumatic events, the chief said.
"My concern … today was to immediately make sure that this officer's concerns are met, because this is very traumatic to this officer, as well as, of course, the family of this victim," Kirk said. "This is not a great day for us, but at the same time, our officers have to do what is necessary."
The officer, a member of the department's Emergency Response Team, has not been involved in a shooting before, Kirk said.
Gee's home is several hundred yards from U.S. Grant Elementary School, which borders the intersection of National and Sixth Street.
Principal Martha Steinbruecker said the school was alerted to the incident by a neighbor about 20 minutes after the shooting. Students outside for recess were brought in for about 10 minutes until Sheboygan police advised school officials the situation was under control, she said.
Mark Cartner, 47, who has lived two doors down from Gee for two years, described the incident as unnerving. He was on a bicycle ride when the shooting occurred.
"It's normally pretty quiet around here. That's why we moved here," Cartner said. "Pretty scary, though, when it comes in your backyard."
The city's last officer-involved shooting occurred Aug. 8, 2006. Officer Jim Priebe shot and killed 44-year-old Kenneth Brulla as Brulla stabbed his estranged wife, Dawn Brulla, in a garage loft at 934 Swift Ave.
