Man Falsely Arrested Because Of Allegations His Estranged Wife Made

Police surrounded a residence in the 13000 block of Seven Mile Road at 12:26 a.m. Monday, July 11 because they believed a man inside the home had a gun and had threatened to shoot himself.

But that turned out not to be the case.

According to a report by the Caledonia Police Department, the man’s estranged wife, who lives in Alabama, called the police. She told dispatchers that her husband had suicidal statements, that his girlfriend was with him and the girlfriend had taken a gun away from her husband.

Caledonia Police set up a perimeter around the house. With guns drawn, police called the man’s home and ordered him to come out of the house. Officers held the man at gunpoint, as they arrested him and put him in handcuffs.

The man denied that had made suicidal statements and his guns were in a locked box. The man’s girlfriend confirmed his statements and police noted: “It was becoming apparent that the details of the situation were different tha(n) what (the man’s wife) was claiming.”

However, the police did take the man for a psychological evaluation, and it was determined the man was not a threat to himself or others.

The man explained said he moved to Wisconsin two years ago for a job in Oak Creek. While he was still married he had been living with his girlfriend since they had become estranged. His wife has two children from a previous relationship that he adopted and he had been paying for their care, and her mortgage, car loan, food, gas, and utilities.

Prior to the police coming to his house, the man told his wife he was going to start the divorce proceedings and he believed she thought he wouldn’t be supporting her anymore financially.

The man’s wife later told police none of the messages indicated he actually had a gun or that he wanted police to come to his house to shoot him. She told police she didn’t think he was serious.