Title: Graphic Video Refutes Police Lies — Shows Cops Murder Hostage After He Escaped his Captor Source:
Free Thought Project URL Source:http://thefreethoughtproject.com/gr ... murder-hostage-escaped-captor/ Published:Apr 28, 2016 Author:Matt Agorist Post Date:2016-04-29 09:43:51 by Deckard Keywords:None Views:850 Comments:4
Neenah, WI — In December of last year, Michael Funk and two other individuals were taken hostage by Brian T. Flatoff. After an hours-long standoff, Funk managed to escape, only to be murdered in cold blood by Neenah Police officers.
After they killed him, police lied and said Funk refused to obey their orders to drop his gun, so they were forced to open fire on the innocent man. They also lied and said that he was given immediate medical attention and treated at a hospital before he succumbed to his wounds. However, the video shows police leave him lying in a pool of his own blood for a half hour.
The truth, as seen in the video below, is Funk never pointed a gun at police and posed no threat to them when they opened fire on him without any warning.
A prepared statement that was issued by Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson about 10 hours after the shooting said Funk was shot after he didn’t obey police commands to drop his handgun and that Menasha police officer Raymond Berna heard officers yell, “Police, show me your hands” or “Police, drop the gun” before officers shot Funk.
The video, recorded by a dashboard camera of a Neenah police car, shows those statements to be false.
After police murdered Funk, they drove in an armored vehicle and are seen ignoring the man whose life they could have saved.
Wilkinson told The Associated Press that the initial information about Funk ignoring orders was from witness interviews, but that the video appears to show there were no warnings given. Wilkinson also told the AP that officers are not required to give warnings, reports the Northwestern.
The situation began as Flatoff, clearly in a hostile state of mind, came barreling into a motorcycle shop with his gun drawn where his bike was being worked on. He took everyone in the room hostage and held a gun to the head of the owner of Eagle Nation Cycles, demanding he do repairs on his bike.
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A telephone line of communication had been opened up with police during the hostage situation and Flatoff warned that if police were called, the hostages would be killed. Police knew all of this.
Police made the hasty decision to enter after they heard that if Flatoff’s demands weren’t met “within the next minute or so, everyone is going to die.” The entry was a failure and no one was rescued. One officer was hit in the helmet, but suffered no injuries.
About three minutes after the botched rescue attempt, Funk, a 60-year-old grandfather, came running out. As he escaped, he pulled a pistol from the small of his back and aimed it back at the door from which he fled — at his hostage taker. Within seconds, he was gunned down by police.
Funk had broken no law and was a legal concealed carry permit holder. He was merely attempting to protect himself from a man that meant him harm, and for this, he was murdered by the very people who claimed to protect him.
Flatoff, 46, of Stevens Point now faces 11 felony charges, including felony murder and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. The homicide charge is for the death of Funk, in spite of the fact that police killed him. He also faces five felony charges in the case for a disturbance that preceded the standoff.
Funk’s daughter, Athea Callahan, has been pushing for more details since the cover-up of her father’s death. She will now have some closure.
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist
After they killed him, police lied and said Funk refused to obey their orders to drop his gun, so they were forced to open fire on the innocent man. They also lied and said that he was given immediate medical attention and treated at a hospital before he succumbed to his wounds. However, the video shows police leave him lying in a pool of his own blood for a half hour.
You asked for it. There was no murder in cold blood, or otherwise.
Neenah, WI — In December of last year, Michael Funk and two other individuals were taken hostage by Brian T. Flatoff. After an hours-long standoff, Funk managed to escape, only to be murdered in cold blood by Neenah Police officers.
Video shows Neenah hostage Funk given no warning to drop his gun
By Emily Matesic and Rhonda Roberts WBAY.com Published: April 28, 2016, 1:33 pm Updated: April 28, 2016, 4:18 pm
Police dash cam video obtained by USA Today Network-Wisconsin shows Neenah motorcycle shop hostage Michael “M.L.” Funk being shot and killed by police as he escaped Eagle Nations Cycles on Dec. 5, 2015.
The video shows Funk received no warning from police to drop his weapon before he was fired upon.
(Note: Action 2 News removed the links to the video at the request of USA Today Network-Wisconsin.)
The video shows Funk appearing to leap from the building and fall to the ground. He gets up and ducks behind a truck. He appears to pull out a gun. Funk starts to run away and is shot multiple times by police.
The video on the Post-Crescent website appears to contradict an initial report from the Neenah Police Department that officers gave Funk warning to drop his gun before they shot him.
The fatal shooting of Funk, 60, remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is protocol in officer-involved shootings.
The DOJ has not commented on the release of the video.
This statement was released after the standoff in December:
“Our investigation thus far has shown that the deceased, Michael Funk, was armed when fired upon by police. However, DOJ has much work ahead of us and a prosecutor will make a final determination on whether there should be charges in the case.”
Funk had been taken hostage earlier in the day by 46-year-old Brian Flatoff.
Flatoff, armed with a handgun, went to the cycle shop looking for a man with whom he had a dispute over a motorcycle.
The man was not there, but Flatoff found Funk and Ryan Moderson and took them hostage. A third man, Michael Petersen, came into the shop and was also taken hostage, according to a criminal complaint.
During the standoff, officers opened a rear door and yelled at Flatoff to drop his weapon. There was an exchange of gunfire between Flatoff and an officer, according to the complaint.
When the officers exited, Flatoff told Funk to close the rear door. That’s when Funk made a “run for it,” Petersen told investigators.
After the shooting of Funk, Flatoff released the other hostages and surrendered to police.
Funk’s wife has filed a $3.5 million lawsuit against the city of Neenah and three police officers. The suit filed by Theresa Mason-Funk claims her husband was “intentionally and unlawfully” shot as he was trying to escape.
Flatoff has been charged with 16 felonies in connection to the hostage situation, including Felony Murder and three counts of Attempted Homicide.
He has a plea hearing scheduled for May 16 in Winnebago County, according to online court records.
Reporter Emily Matesic is talking to officials and will have full coverage tonight on Action 2 News.
Police chief: No apparent warning before Michael Funk shot by officers in Neenah on Dec. 5th
Posted 1:45 pm, April 28, 2016, by AP Wire Service, Updated at 02:34pm, April 28, 2016
NEENAH — The police chief in Neenah, Wisconsin says a dashcam video appears to show that officers who fatally shot an armed hostage in December gave no warning before they fired outside of a motorcycle shop.
Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson commented Thursday, April 28th on the video, which was obtained and published online by the USA Today Network . It appears to show that Michael Funk wasn’t warned on December 5th as he ran from the Eagle Nation Cycles shop, where hostages were being held.
Neenah police had said shortly afterward that Funk ignored orders to drop his gun.
Wilkinson told The Associated Press that the initial information about Funk ignoring orders was from witness interviews, but that the nearly five-minute video shows there appear to have been no warnings.
Wilkinson also said officers are not required to give warnings.
Duke Behnke, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin 5:49 p.m. CDT April 28, 2016
[excerpt]
Godlewski confirmed Wilkinson's statement that officers aren't required to give a warning before shooting.
"The policy or state law does not require a warning because they were facing immediate danger," Godlewski said.
The Neenah Police Department’s use of force policy states an officer may use deadly force:
To protect him/herself or others from what he/she reasonably believes would be an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.
To stop a fleeing subject when the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed, or intends to commit, a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or death, and the officer reasonably believes that there is an imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death to any other person if the subject is not immediately apprehended. Under such circumstances, a verbal warning should precede the use of deadly force, where feasible.
