There’s always a risk when it comes to police officers answering calls where suspects could become violent, but the Shawano Police Department is suffering more injuries in 2025 when it comes to arresting people.
Police Chief Mike Musolff said that the department has seen a 40% increase in people resisting arrest this year, with two officers having to take time out of work for recovery because of injuries sustained apprehending suspects. One officer only had to spend a few days convalescing due to a hyper-extended knee after a suspect kicked him there, but the other officer is expected to be out of action for at least three months.
“This is highlighting the real dangers involved,” Musolff said. “If the officers didn’t have to arrest somebody to begin with, there wouldn’t be as many chances of an injury. Yet every time we place somebody under arrest and they resist, there is a decent chance they could be hurt, and imagine with a 40% increase in resisting, how many other officers could have been hurt over the course of that time if it didn’t work out to our advantage?”
Having officers off due to injury also reduces the number of officers on duty, according to Musolff. Per department policy, at least two officers must be on duty at any given time, and when officers are on leave due to injuries, the shifts are usually at that lower benchmark due to Shawano’s police force being small, which puts the community in more jeopardy and more strain on the officers who have to pick up the slack.
Drug use by many of the suspects makes it harder for officers to anticipate responses, as paranoia caused by some of the drugs puts people in a fight or flight mode, and Musolff said they often choose to fight. He noted there have been times where he goes home after a day at work, and hearing on the radio that officers are involved in a fight, he prays for the best.
“The majority of these incidents appear to be connected to individuals under the influence or in possession of drugs, which often adds unpredictability and aggression to interactions,” Musolff said, adding that many of the calls are related to domestic violence or disturbances in homes and businesses. “Our primary concern is ensuring our officers are able to return home safely at the end of each shift. That becomes more challenging when arrests become violent or unpredictable.”
He noted many of the altercations are hands-on, with officers trying to avoid using weapons that could injure or kill people. The use of force is something that is only encouraged as a last resort.
“We have had people who have had guns on them or knives, things like that, which significantly increases the risk,” Musolff said. “We do a lot of training, deescalation training that gets the officers to be prepared for situations with the hope of stopping that sort of thing from happening. Honestly, you can’t stop everything from happening, because you can’t control the other brain you’re dealing with.”
Shawano is fortunate in that officers can refresh themselves on deescalation training and other matters close to home, because the police department has several training officers, which prevents constant travel elsewhere to bone up on issues. The state recommends at least 24 hours of refresher courses, but Shawano does at least 48, according to Musolff.
Musolff noted that the Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court is severely understaffed regarding both judges and attorneys. Many of the city police cases drag out so long because of this, and suspects out on bond risk reoffending again.
The circuit courts and district attorney offices are handled by the state of Wisconsin, and the Shawano County district attorney’s office will get two assistant district attorneys through the recent 2025-27 budget signed into law just before July 4. Musolff said he understands how DA Greg Parker has tried to keep cases moving with the limited staff he has, and he’s hopeful the additional attorneys will help matters.
“Sometimes this can go two or three years (for some cases) from when the initial case gets heard,” Musolff said. “I think a lot of the problem with that is the person is not getting help in a timely fashion, and I think they probably just give up in their minds and think ‘I’ll just keep using drugs.’”
Prevention is difficult for the police, as most of the time they’re not meeting the people involved until a crime has been committed, although the city has several outreach activities where fun activities are mixed with efforts from officers to encourage a crime-free lifestyle, especially among younger people.
Low numbers of people going into policing is an issue, too, according to Musolff, who noted his department and the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department could always use more officers.
“Everybody needs more help,” Musolff said. “There’s way too much work to go around for the skeleton crew that everybody has.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
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