Man found guilty of battery to law enforcement officer

STEVENS POINT — Following a six-day jury trial, Scott Van Order was found guilty of battery to a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer, and disorderly conduct that stems from an Aug. 2024 incident.
The trial, which was originally planned for four days, stretched to six days and saw two jurors be dismissed due to the unplanned extension. After around eight hours of deliberating, the jury found Van Order not guilty of substantial battery and criminal damage to property.
During the course of the trial, Van Order’s attorney made a motion for a mistrial. Judge Louis Molepske denied the motion.
In Aug. of 2024, Van Order is alleged to have been involved in a physical altercation at Papa Joe’s bar on Division Street. Following the alleged altercation, Van Order left the bar and was found by police officers walking near Pacelli High School.
On the body camera footage, a police officer is seen pulling up near Van Order and exits his squad car. Upon leaving his vehicle, Van Order begins to run which leads to a foot pursuit. The officer is heard warning Van Order to stop or he will get tased. At one point, Van Order stops running and turns to face the officer, where they enter into a small physical altercation that resulted in the officer falling over. Van Order continued to flee, leading to the officer deploying his taser. The officer continued to give Van Order commands to remain on his stomach, however Van Order can be seen attempting to remove the taser before standing up and walking at the officer while saying expletives. The officer then deployed his taser once again. Van Order got back to his feet and then continued to walk at the officer and ignoring the officer’s commands. During this time, an additional officer arrived on scene and tackled Van Order to the ground. Van Order continued to resist arrest as several police officers worked to detain him. During this time, Van Order can be seen attempting to a bite a police officer and punching another.
During his testimony in court, Van Order testified that he believed the police officer who originally pulled over to be an individual from the bar who was chasing after him, which he stated led to him fleeing.
Van Order remains out on bail, but will return to court on June 25 for his sentencing hearing.