Marion man who strangled deputy gets six years in prison

SHAWANO — A Marion man convicted of strangling a sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday in a Shawano County courtroom packed with his family and friends on one side and a standing-room only crowd of law enforcement on the other.

Chad R. Kohel, 46, was convicted after a jury trial in June of felony counts of strangulation and suffocation and battery to a law enforcement officer. The jury acquitted him of attempted homicide and criminal escape.

He was accused of strangling Shawano County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandra Finger after a drunken driving arrest on July 27, 2018.

The court received numerous letters of support for Kohel attesting to his character, something the state conceded.

“He has a good character,” District Attorney Greg Parker said.

However, Parker said, noting the findings of a pre-sentence investigation, Kohel has an alcohol abuse problem that made him irrational, violent and life-threatening.

“Mr. Kohel could have permanently taken the life away from a law enforcement officer and her family,” he said.

Parker also cited statistics showing the dangers law enforcement officers face while trying to serve the community.

“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every single day,” he said. “No law enforcement officer deserves to have what happened to Deputy Finger.”

Defense counsel Jeff Haase acknowledged the severity of Kohel’s actions and said Kohel takes responsibility for them.

However, he argued the stiff sentence recommended by the state was excessive compared to sentences handed down in similar cases.

“We don’t punish defendants more harshly because the victims are law enforcement officers,” he said.

Kohel told the court he had made “a series of very bad choices,” and that he blames himself.

“Both God and myself know that I have a deep and painful regret for having reacted the way that I did,” he said. “I am sorry and I beg for your forgiveness.”

In his testimony at the jury trial, Kohel maintained the altercation began when Finger grabbed his private parts while seat-belting him into the back of her squad car, even though the alleged grabbing could not be seen in Finger’s bodycam video.

A struggle ensued with Finger either backing out or being pushed out of the back of the squad, followed by Kohel.

Kohel’s arms were stretched out above the bodycam. The state maintained Kohel was choking Finger, while Kohel maintained he was pushing Finger away.

The bodycam recorded the sound of Finger gasping for air and finally gurgling before apparently falling to the ground.

Finger testified she had passed out as a result of Kohel choking her.

Kohel maintained he was pushing Finger away because she was attacking him and that the injuries could have been caused when his hands slipped upward from her shoulders, where he claimed he was pushing, and inadvertently hit her throat.

In her victim impact statement filed with the court, Finger said she and her family have experienced ongoing psychological trauma as a result of the attack.

She also said Kohel does not seem to have any remorse over the incident.

“The defendant takes no accountability for his actions,” she said in her statement. “I kept thinking, ‘Is he remorseful?’ I kept thinking about his children and how they would be affected. I did not want to send someone to prison to be away from their children, but since he is not remorseful, I do want him to go to prison.”

Video showing the attack was replayed at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.

Judge William Kussel Jr. called the video “shocking” and called Kohel’s actions “despicable.”

He said the attack on a law enforcement officer has broader implications.

“The impact is not only on the victim, but on society,” he said.

Kussel also noted that Kohel’s blood-alcohol level was determined to have been about 0.39 percent at the time of the incident. The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.

Kussel agreed with the pre-sentence investigation conclusion that Kohel needed to be in an alcohol treatment program that could best be provided in a confined setting.

Kussel followed the state’s recommendation for three years in prison and three years extended supervision on each of the two felony counts of strangulation and battery, with those sentences running consecutively.

Kohel was also sentenced to an additional 220 days for third-offense operating while intoxicated. However, he was given credit for the 433 days he has spent in jail since his arrest.

Prior to the jury trial, Kohel had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of third-offense operating while intoxicated, operating after revocation and operating with a prohibited alcohol count.