Family of Neillsville man killed in 2019 officer-involved shooting files lawsuit

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - The family of a Neillsville man shot and killed by law enforcement in 2019 is suing.

A lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed in Eau Claire County Circuit Court on June 24 by family members of Tyler Meier, who was shot and killed in March of 2019, against Eau Claire County, the City of Augusta, and members of the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Department and Augusta Police Department.

Meier, who was 46, died on March 2, 2019 on Kempton Road about halfway between Augusta and Fairchild in the Town of Fairchild after being shot by law enforcement. Augusta Police officer Levi Stumo and Eau Claire County Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Eaton were cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

According to the DOJ, law enforcement was called about a suspicious person in the area of Kempton Road on March 2, 2019. According to a report from the DOJ, they were confronted by Meier at the scene, who the responding law enforcement members said was “agitated.” After Meier attempted to fight the law enforcement members, the report said that the law enforcement members used pepper spray and a stun gun in an attempt to stop Meier from fighting them. Meier was then shot and died at the scene. Both of the law enforcement members were placed on paid leave while the DOJ investigated the shooting.

The lawsuit stated that Meier suffered from a mental disability, including a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and tried to walk away from the situation, but law enforcement followed Meier, making him more upset. The lawsuit alleges that law enforcement acted “maliciously and negligently” to provoke Meier’s anxiety and mental health crisis.

Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer said Tuesday that “The DOJ and Eau Claire County DA both thoroughly investigated this case and found there were no criminal actions or wrongful doing by the officers, and that the officers’ actions were justified. Meier’s actions are what caused his death.”

The family is asking for an unspecified amount of damages and other court costs. The defendants have 45 days to respond.

Meier had previously been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision after being convicted of felony murder by battery after fatally punching Keith Young of Neillsville in a Neillsville bar in 2009. Young was 43 years old at the time of his death. Meier was also convicted of resisting or obstructing an officer in an Oneida County case in 2004.