The only casualty of an hours-long SWAT raid and hostage situation in Wisconsin was a disabled Nam veteran who had filed a $50 million civil rights suit after he survived a similar SWAT raid three years ago.

In 2012, the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group staged a SWAT raid at Eagle Nation Cycles that resulted in 15 felony charges against business co-owner Steven Erato – all of which were dismissed. He was eventually convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession.

According to the suit, the judge shouldn’t have signed the search warrant because of a previous dispute with Erato. In 2005, the state’s Crime Victims Rights Board ruled in favor of Erato against the aforementioned judge, as well as the district attorney, in a trial involving Erato’s wife, Merica Kabke. Erato was not permitted to make a statement during court proceedings, which violated his rights as the victim of a crime.

“They threw everything but the kitchen sink at him, and it turned out to be nothing,” observed White, who is still representing Erato in the federal lawsuit.

During the raid, “The hyper-militarized force parked an armored tank-like vehicle outside of Eagle Nation, stormed the building, bombarding the occupants with assault weapons drawn, screaming profanities and abuse, all while wearing plainclothes (ununiformed) and face masks,” recounted the lawsuit.

 The raid was supposedly justified because an informant with the task force supposedly witnessed a drug deal in the alley behind the motorcycle shop on the previous day. The alley also abuts two bars, including one that’s nicknamed the “Crack Shack” for its alleged drug use and sales, the lawsuit alleges.

The objective of the raid was to close down the business and seize the property on which it stood through “asset forfeiture,” the suit contends.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-respond-hostage-situation-killing-victim-lawsuit/#MTd5FQ6sqe85Cg3M.99

But today,  Michael Funk, Vietnam vet and co-owner of  Eagle Nation Cycles was killed after fleeing a hostage situation, only to be gunned down by police. Now his longtime business partner says officers “shot the wrong guy.”

Funk was at Eagle Nation Cycles around 9 a.m. when a gunman wielding a MAC-10 held him and several others captive in what became an hours-long standoff with police.

When cops arrived, a suspect inside the building fired at them, striking one officer’s helmet, and the officers retreated, Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said.

Shortly after, a man later identified as Funk exited the motorcycle shop. He was “shot at by one or more officers on scene”

http://www.bikerspost.com/article/240/vietnam-vet-biker-killed-by-police-in-hostage-standoff

Funk and Eagle Nation co-owner Steven Erato were embroiled in a $50 million lawsuit against the city of Neenah—about 85 miles northwest of Milwaukee—over the alleged Sons of Anarchy-style crackdown.

While police haven’t released a motive in the alleged crime, White said the gunman attacked Eagle Nation because he wanted to retrieve his motorcycle, which had been sold to another person and was being repaired at the shop.

“There have been reports that [the gunman] was on probation, had another case pending, [and] sold his bike to raise money for his legal fees,” White told The Daily Beast. “Then he decided after he got that money, he wanted the bike back.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/07/vietnam-vet-biker-killed-by-police-in-hostage-standoff.html