Disorderly conduct citations against six Wausau West seniors involved in a “Senior Shootout” with Nerf guns have been dropped. When asked about why it took a week to come to this conclusion, Police Chief Jeff Hardel says he wasn’t going to make a hasty decision based on having part of the information. The officers on duty last Tuesday night were off Wednesday and Thursday. With a busy Tuesday night and weekend, many of the officer’s incident reports were not written until they were back on duty between Friday and Sunday.
Hardel says he met with the two students seated inside the vehicle, and their citations were voided Friday night. He says he met with the reporting party, the students, and the parents, before deciding to void the other four tickets. The main reason Hardel supported this unique resolution is the students have been very cooperative, and they have no previous legal problems.
District officials have not issued a statement. They have also not explained their athletic and activity code policy that allows punishment based on an accusation without a hearing or a conviction. A time frame for the student’s community service educational effort has not been determined.
WSAU