Cop thwarts wheelchair bandit

MANAWA – During the Feb. 17 city council meeting a Manawa police officer was awarded a letter of commendation due to his determination to return an electric wheelchair to its rightful owner who is dependant on it.
Officer Shannon Wesoloski went on a call to a home in Manawa where he was told an electric wheelchair was being held at a previous address and the people holding it were refusing to give it back due to unpaid electric bills.
Without the wheelchair, which is valued at $16,000, the person needing the chair is bedridden due to mobility issues, said Manawa Police Chief Jason Severson.
The call was considered a civil matter and they would need to take the matter to civil court at which time the matter was closed out.
The homeowners illegally maintaining possession of the chair were not cooperative with law enforcement, and lied about the whereabouts of the chair.

Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, along with Officer Wesoloski were able to get the case reopened at which time an investigation started and a deputy returned to the residence with a search warrant in hand.
The deputy who executed the search warrant found the wheelchair to be sitting in the garage, after telling officers numerous times they did not have it, Severson said.
Once the wheelchair was retrieved they had it towed to Manawa and returned the chair to the family.
The people illegally in possession of the wheelchair were charged through the district attorney’s office with resisting or obstructing an officer. Obstructs refers to knowingly giving false information to an officer.
“Officer Wesoloski is an asset to the police department,” said Severson. “He is our senior patrol officer, field training officer, peer support officer, completes records requests, completes and reports our incident-based reporting. He is also very visible and beloved by our community.”
Officer Wesoloski has been with the Manawa Police Department since April of 2017.
Severson said none of this would have happened without the assistance of the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department, who he said worked diligently alongside Officer Wesoloski to retrieve the chair for someone who cannot live without it.