MAN SHOOTS DEPUTY, COMMITS SUICIDE

A Jackson County man is dead and two deputies were injured last week
following a six-hour standoff at a residence in the town of Albion.

Deputy Scott Bluedorn was shot and Sgt. Douglas Utter sustained a knee
injury after 50-year-old Michael D. Wenkle opened fire during a
welfare check just after noon Dec. 8. Wenkle committed suicide later
that day, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.

"Initially, you get the response of being shocked - just trying to
understand what's going on," Sheriff Duane Waldera said. "It's a
disturbing thing to (hear) that a deputy has been injured and to add
that someone's been shot."

Bluedorn was treated and released from Black River Memorial Hospital
and currently is recovering at home. Utter also was treated at BRMH
and released. Both are expected to return to active duty, which
Waldera said will be important for the department.

"We're short-staffed the way it is (and) their veteran status is very
important to the office - meaning they're reliable and dependable," he
said.

"We don't have (the) luxury of having a lot of people around, but you
rely on good, quality officers to make sure things work."

Bluedorn did not wish to comment, and Utter could not be reached as of
press time.

Bluedorn, Utter and Deputy Earl Lemieux were dispatched to W5298
Highway X - the site of the former Disco Store - following a report of
a depressed individual. After arriving, deputies made verbal contact
with Wenkle, and Wenkle subsequently shot at the deputies through a
closed door, striking Bluedorn in the upper left abdomen in his
protective vest, according to Deputy Pat LaBarbera.

Waldera said the vest was critical.

"The vest was a huge asset in this issue," he said. "Without that, it
could have been much worse."

The shooting came two days before Wenkle was scheduled to appear
before a jury on felony drug charges. He was charged in September 2009
with maintaining a drug-trafficking place, manufacturing or delivering
marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver after
being arrested that August.

Authorities executed a search warrant and seized approximately $5,000
worth of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, including six full-grown
marijuana plants and smaller quantities of packaged marijuana.

Emergency response teams from Jackson and surrounding counties
attempted to conduct negotiations with Wenkle during last week's
standoff but never made contact. Gas eventually was deployed into the
residence just before 6:30 p.m., and authorities entered shortly
thereafter to find Wenkle dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officials blocked off the area around the residence during the
standoff, causing public traffic and school district bus routes to be
rerouted. Some neighbors also were evacuated from the area, Waldera
said.

This is the first known incident in which a law enforcement official
has been injured by a gunshot in Jackson County. A state trooper
sustained a gunshot wound on the interstate in the county in the
mid-1980s, LaBarbera said.

There have been numerous incidents where deputies have been shot at
over the years, he said.

Last Wednesday's incident remains under investigation by the Wisconsin
Department of Justice.