GREEN BAY, Wis–A federal judge dismisses a lawsuit filed against Neenah Police by hostages in the Eagle Nation Cycles standoff. Five people, including former Eagle Nation owner Stephen Erato, filed the suit in 2021 claiming their civil rights were violated when officers treated them like criminal suspects instead of crime victims.
Brian Flatoff pulled a gun on those inside the motorcycle shop in December of 2015, holding them hostage for several hours, and opening fire on officers that initially tried to breach the building. One of the hostages, Michael Funk, was shot and killed by police as he ran out of the back of the building while brandishing a gun.
Eagle Nation by Jonathan Krause on Scribd
In his ruling, Judge William Griesbach found that police were acting reasonably in handcuffing and detaining some of the people that had been inside Eagle Nation until it could be determined that they were not a suspect.
