Accused shooter held in mental health center

The woman accused of shooting an Oconto Falls police officer Aug. 6 was taken to Winnebago Mental Health Institute (WMHI) not long after her arrival at the Oconto County Jail, court documents indicate.

Alisha M. Kocken, 29, faces charges including attempted first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the incident, in which she allegedly fired three shots at Officer Nicole Blaskowski, striking her in the head and ballistic vest, after calling 911 to report someone had kidnapped her young son.

Blaskowski was treated overnight at a Green Bay hospital and released to recuperate at home.

The criminal complaint says Kocken accused her boyfriend of kidnapping after he took the boy to a nearby park, and before the shots were fired she accused a neighbor of kidnapping after the boy went to a neighbor’s apartment as she talked with the officer.

Kocken remained combative while being arrested after the shooting, the complaint said.

Defense attorney John Miller Carroll wrote to Oconto County Circuit Judge Jay N. Conley on Aug. 11 to request that Kocken’s initial appearance be conducted via Zoom videoconferencing technology from the Oshkosh-area mental health facility.

“I have met with my client and I have reason to doubt her competency,” Carroll said, adding that he had been informed by District Attorney Edward Burke that Kocken was taken to WMHI because of concerns raised at the jail by sheriff’s deputies and correctional officers.

Kocken reportedly refused to appear at an Aug. 12 hearing to take testimony on her mental state, and Conley scheduled a resumption of that hearing for Aug. 20.

An explanation of Kocken’s behavior is not revealed in the criminal complaint, but Oconto County Sheriff Todd Skarban and Oconto Falls Police Chief Brad Olsen both took time during an Aug. 8 candlelight vigil for Blaskowski to talk about the increasing drug abuse problem in the county.