A 61-year-old Dickinson man who was arrested after a break-in and shooting in July 2008 is demanding four officers involved in the incident be suspended immediately.
Joel Wetzel, who faces five felony charges, filed oral arguments on his motion to suspend the officers on Wednesday. He sent a letter to the Stark County District Court Monday to have his motion to suspend the officers heard immediately because of an alleged public safety risk.
Wetzel is accused of breaking into a Dickinson residence and shooting at a door, which caused fragments of the door to injure a resident of the home. He is also accused of pointing a gun at officers who arrived on the scene.
Dickinson Police Sgt. Dan Brown shot Wetzel.
However, Wetzel disputes all charges against him. He said he did not point a gun at police and that officers were trying to murder him.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the oral arguments filed at the Stark County Courthouse, he states officers used "unjustified deadly force."
After the incident, an investigation conducted by the Stark County Sheriff's Department and the North Dakota Bureau of Investigation found that officers acted appropriately.
"It's like having a fox watch the chicken coop having the police regulate the police in serious matters of public safety risk," Wetzel said Tuesday.
Dickinson City Administrator Shawn Kessel said he is comfortable with officers' actions on that day.
"Anytime an officer discharges his gun an investigation takes place and we take that kind of a situation very seriously," Kessel said. "That investigation did not result in the suspension of an officer, so I'm confident that we've done the right things, we've looked at it as we should and we've taken appropriate action."
Wetzel also said he sent a letter to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board April 15. The letter says if the board doesn't suspend the four police officers who responded to the incident immediately, he will sue the board.
Keith A. Ternes of Fargo, a POST Board member, said he has not seen the letter, but expects the matter is being handled properly.
"To this point I, as a POST Board member, have not been contacted or been presented with any information, so it's difficult for me to respond to what Mr. Wetzel is expecting the POST Board to do," Ternes said. "But I'm somewhat perplexed as to exactly what he's expecting the POST Board to do at this particular point."
ADVERTISEMENT
Wetzel's pretrial conference is on May 11 and his trial is scheduled to begin June 7.
Judge William Herauf declined comment on the matter.
