Judge Dismisses Wrongful Death suit from 2007 Shooting

Oneida County Circuit Judge Mark Mangerson has ruled that the city of Crandon cannot be held responsible for the actions of one of its police officers while he was not on duty.

In 2007, Tyler Peterson shot and killed six people and wounded a seventh after getting into a spat with his girlfriend. The twenty year Peterson killed himself the following the day.  The families of the victims and the lone survivor, Charlie Neitzel, who claims to have only survived by playing dead, filed a suit against the city of Crandon accusing the city of negligence.

Their claim was that Peterson had a “narcissistic personality disorder” that was not caught before he went on the job. In addition, they claimed that Peterson had a history of violence that authorities knew about but chose to overlook.

The families claimed that the deaths of their loved ones could have been avoided had the Crandon authorities taken more time and been more particular with their hiring process.

However, Judge Mark Mangerson denied the claim, and said the city and county could not be held legally responsible for what Peterson did, or what any of its employees do on their own time.