ECPD shooting trial will be in Madison

Jun. 22—EAU CLAIRE — A federal civil rights lawsuit brought against an Eau Claire police officer for a 2015 shooting will be tried in Madison, according to a judge's ruling.

James D. Peterson, judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, on Monday denied a request from attorneys representing former Officer Hunter Braatz and the city government to hold a jury trial in Eau Claire.

The attorneys contended that a trial in Eau Claire would be more convenient for parties and witnesses in the case, and it would allow jurors to see the site of the April 1, 2015, shooting for themselves.

Peterson ruled in favor of keeping the proceedings in Madison, as that is where plaintiff Tyler Holte chose to file the case and it will be closer to where he intends to live when the jury trial is scheduled to take place in mid-August.

"So the convenience of an Eau Claire trial to Braatz and other witnesses would be offset by inconvenience to Holte and (his girlfriend)," the judge wrote.

The couple plans to move to either Madison or Milwaukee prior to the trial, according to Holte's attorney.

Holte's decision to file the case during February 2020 in federal court in Madison was intentionally made to stay clear of potential jurors who may have personal opinions of Eau Claire authorities.

"The plaintiff's choice that his case be tried in Madison rather than in Eau Claire is a step toward a fairer trial that he ought not be compelled to relinquish," Jeff Scott Olson, Holte's attorney, wrote in a motion filed on June 11.

Changing the trial's location was requested by attorneys Matteo Reginato and Remzy Bitar with the Municipal Law & Litigation Group, which is representing Braatz and the city government.

In their June 4 motion, they noted that police officers and medical professionals who may be called as witnesses live and work in the Eau Claire area.

"Almost all of those officers are still employed by the ECPD (and therefore work in Eau Claire), will likely be scheduled to work during the week of trial, and could be called to respond to emergencies and/or service calls in the Eau Claire community during the week trial," wrote Reginato and Bitar.

Holte and his family currently also live in the Eau Claire area, they added.

But Olson contended the suggestion that the trial would be a burden to the city's police force is unsupported.

"It is highly unlikely that all dozen officers on scene would be called to trial as it would result in simply duplicative testimony, but even if they were, the Eau Claire Police Department would have 87 remaining sworn officers to respond to calls in the Eau Claire area," he wrote.

Reginato and Bitar also argued that an Eau Claire jury should hear the case as the shooting and events preceding it happened here.

However, Olson responded that would could lead to a jury deciding the case on prejudice and emotion.

"The defendants' argument is a thinly veiled hope that perhaps locals would be so offended that Holte drove recklessly through their neighborhood, they might sanction the ultimate decision to use deadly force to apprehend Holte later, despite the fact that Holte was simply sitting in the woods failing to raise his hands upon orders to do so at the time he was shot," Olson wrote.

The scene of the shooting — a steep embankment behind VFW Post 305, 1300 Starr Ave. — is another reason Reginato and Bitar cited in their effort to bring the trial here.

"A site visit would be far more convenient and practical for the jury if the trial takes place in Eau Claire," they wrote.

But Olson's reply to that is that photographs, maps and video recordings are used at most trials involving shooting scenes, as opposed to site visits. He also noted that changes caused by erosion, fallen trees, new vegetation and other natural factors in the past 6 1/2 years means conditions at the property have changed since the time of the shooting.

"There is at least as much danger of confusing and misleading jurors as there is potential to help them," Olson stated.

The judge agreed that having a jury visit the shooting site, which has already been documented by numerous photographs submitted as evidence in the case, is unlikely anyway.

"Nothing in defendants' motion suggests that a site visit by the jury would be necessary, and the court would be disinclined to allow it," Peterson wrote.

The court has set a deadline for parties to submit proposed settlements by July 2. But it has also scheduled jury selection and the trial to begin on Aug. 16 in Madison.

According to court documents:

On April 1, 2015, the county's dispatch center notified police officers that there was a warrant out for Holte's arrest and he'd been spotted outside of an Eau Claire auto repair shop. The dispatcher said it was unknown if Holte was armed, but advised officers to use caution.

Holte was in his vehicle, talking to his mother through the driver's side window when officers arrived in unmarked and marked police cars. Holte drove off and his mother fell to the ground.

Police opted not to pursue Holte in a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood, but search for his vehicle after he stopped driving it. A short time later, officers found the vehicle in the VFW parking lot.

Spreading out to search for Holte in the vicinity, officers found him resting on a tree stump or root on the steep embankment behind the VFW. Braatz was positioned downhill from Holte while other officers were above him, each issuing orders for the man to show his hands. Braatz stated in a deposition that Holte's right hand was hidden in his sweatshirt and he turned his body toward the officer. Holte, however, has said he was frozen in place with his hands resting on his legs.

Braatz fired two shots from a semi-automatic rifle and the bullets struck Holte in a shoulder and leg. Officers provided first aid until paramedics arrived. No weapon was found on or around Holte.

Medical bills for treatment of Holte's injuries totaled $235,250, according to documents filed in the case.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for Holte's injuries, damages that deter others from similar conduct and punish Braatz for his actions, plus all attorneys' and court costs.

Braatz has retired from the police force and now runs a small business in Eau Claire.