Man sentenced to four years in prison for stabbing Mosinee police officer

MOSINEE, Wis. (WSAW) – A 41-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison for stabbing a Mosinee police officer during a welfare check in January.

Randy Beardsley pleaded guilty to amended charges in July in a plea deal. He was found guilty of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest and must serve two years of extended probation.

The incident occurred on February 25. Investigators with the Marathon County Sheriff's Office said that around 2 a.m., Mosinee School Liaison Officer Eric Krause saw a man lying on the sidewalk near 7th and Main Streets in Mosinee and checked on the man's welfare as temperatures were below freezing.

On the day of the incident, Mosinee Police Chief Ken Grams said Krause thought the man might need medical attention. He said Krause approached him and Beardsley “physically engaged” with Krause. Krause pulled away or tried to “disengage” and in doing so, Krause was stabbed. Krause was able to immediately call for emergency assistance. Grams said Krause moved to a safe distance from Beardsley, Krause pointed his service pistol at him, gave orders and Beardsley obeyed.

When other officers arrived, police say Beardsley did not comply with police commands and a Marathon County Sheriff's Office tracking dog was deployed. He was then taken into custody. Krause was taken to a safe location to be stabilized with a tourniquet and receive initial emergency treatment before being transported to a hospital for further medical care.

“The suspect immediately started to act negatively toward the officer, which led to this incident. As far as the officer's conduct goes, he did everything correctly and according to protocol,” Grams said after the incident.

Officer Krause, who was stabbed, was treated and released from the hospital the same day. Beardsley was bitten by a sniffer dog during the incident and was released from the hospital to jail a few days later.

Multiple agencies responded to the incident including Mosinee Police, Marathon County Sheriff's Office, Kronenwetter Police, Everest Metropolitan Police, Rothschild Police, Wausau Police, Mosinee EMS, Riverside EMS and SAFER EMS.

Krause has been a police officer for 16 years, including nine years with the Mosinee Police Department. Although he is the school resource officer for the Mosinee School District, he worked the night of Jan. 18-19 to cover for another officer who was on vacation.

A restitution hearing is scheduled for October 8.

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