Fallen Adams County Deputy Michael Shannon remembered 20 years after his death

Twenty years after Adams County Deputy Michael Shannon's death, officers, family and friends will gather Tuesday morning at the memorial built in his honor and pay tribute to the deputy who gave his life while serving his community.

Shannon wasn't suppose to be on duty yet when a call came in at 10:49 a.m. March 7, 2003, about a Strongs Prairie man threatening to shoot a town brush crew cutting trees.

Shannon, 32, had been in Adams County Circuit Court that morning and was in the Sheriff's Office when the call came in. He said he would go despite his shift not starting for a few hours. It was the type of person Shannon was, former Sheriff Roberta Sindelar would later tell the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune.

Shortly after he arrived at the scene, Shannon was shot by Thomas G. Kramer, then 54. Other officers would pull Shannon from Kramer's driveway and get him to the Adams County Memorial Hospital, but his wounds were too severe and he died that day.

The following year, a jury would convict Kramer of first-degree intentional homicide for Shannon's death and a judge would sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of release. Kramer died in prison.

Over 1,000 officers from 300 departments honored Shannon

Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Shane Blaser was a Wisconsin Rapids police officer in March 2003. Shannon had gotten Blaser interested in law enforcement as a profession. It was the summer of 1990 when Shannon called Blaser and told him about the Rome Police Department Auxiliary.

"He said, 'Come on down; it's a lot of fun,'" Blaser told the Daily Tribune during an interview Thursday.

Blaser had been going to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a plan to be an accountant, but Shannon convinced him to volunteer for the Rome auxiliary. He and Shannon decided to go to school for police science at UW-Platteville. They were roommates at school and would both go on to work for the Adams County Sheriff's Office.

Blaser took a job with the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department in 1997. Blaser and Shannon both worked the night shift and would frequently talk. Blaser remembers the call he got on March 7, 2003. The caller told Blaser Shannon had been shot and they were going to fly him to the University Hospital in Madison by helicopter.

Blaser called his wife, told her he was going to Madison to be with Shannon and then started packing a duffle bag. He had just finished packing when he got a second call telling him Shannon had died.

Blaser went to the hospital to be with Shannon's family and then to the Adams County Sheriff's Office.

"I have very vivid memories of being down there," he said.

Blaser was a pallbearer at Shannon's funeral, which took place at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Wisconsin Rapids. The number of officers from law enforcement agencies across the state and beyond was overwhelming, he said. More than 1,000 officers from 300 departments would show up for the funeral and procession to the Rome cemetery where Shannon was laid to rest.

Blaser said something changed in him after Shannon's death, and his job as an officer wasn't fun anymore, so he quit.

Always an important part of the Rome Police Department

The people who knew Shannon make sure to connect with each other each year around March 7, Blaser said. This year, Blaser will be going to Friendship for the ceremony, which also is a rededication of the memorial built for Shannon.

The memorial had to be moved a short distance to make room for new construction going on at the Adams County Courthouse, Adams County Chief Deputy Dave Carlson said. It will be a short ceremony, but it's important to remember Shannon, he said.

"We still have 13 to 15 people who were employed here back then who are still employed now," Carlson said.

The ceremony and rededication aren't important for just the officers who worked with and knew Shannon, Carlson said. New deputies coming into the Adams County Sheriff's Office soon start talking about Shannon. Many will be at the ceremony. Shannon will always be an important part of the department, Carlson said. He won't be forgotten.

'He was always someone you could rely on and trust'

Carlson wasn't just Shannon's coworker, he also was a friend. The two would go snowmobiling together and do other things, Carlson said. There wasn't anyone who Shannon met who wasn't his friend, Carlson said.

Wood County Sheriff's Department Lt. Scott Saeger worked for the Rome Police Department in 2003 and was the officer on duty the day of Shannon's death. Saeger had met Shannon while both were members of the Rome Police Department Auxiliary.

Saeger said he knew Shannon had been in court that morning and he also knew Shannon would respond to the call, even though he wasn't on duty. Shannon always was the type of person who would help anyone who needed it, Saeger said.

"I was building a house down there in Rome while he was working 11 p.m. to 7 a.m in the (Adams County) dispatch, and even later when he was on the road, and he'd come to help me," Saeger said.

Saeger said he'd ask Shannon if he didn't want to go home and get some sleep, but Shannon would stay and help.

"He was always someone you could rely on and trust," Saeger said.

Shannon was compulsive about keeping his vehicles clean and waxed, Saeger said. He would detail them and wax them. Other friends would ask Shannon to detail their vehicles too, because he was so good at it, Saeger said. Shannon even waxed his snowmobile.

Shannon took the same care with his squad car, Carlson said. It became the standard to compare other officers' squad cars to Shannon's squad, Carlson said.

'It all ended in a second'

Saeger said he heard the call on the radio when other officers arrived at the scene. They said Shannon was down and called for emergency medical services. All kinds of tones went out on the police radios calling for help, and all available squads were ordered to the Strongs Prairie location, Saeger said.

Saeger was assigned to cover an intersection near the home. It was where officers were stopping traffic and a lot of the media ended up there, he said. It was difficult not knowing what was happening with Shannon and to be dealing with media when he wanted to be at the scene.

"We were just waiting," Saeger said. "I wanted to be there and as close to (Shannon) as I could. It almost felt helpless being at that location, but we had a job to do."

Retired Grand Rapids Police Chief Dave Lewandowski also was working for the Rome Police Department in March 2003. Lewandowski, who had run the Rome Police Auxiliary when Shannon, Blaser and Saeger were volunteers, said the Rome officers who knew Shannon all gathered at the Rome Police Department that day. It was a long day and a long night, and afterward everyone went home and tried to absorb what happened, he said.

Lewandowski said he still misses Shannon. They had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs together.

"It all ended in a second," Lewandowski said.

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Contact Karen Madden at (715) 345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33

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This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Fallen Adams County deputy remembered 20 years after his death