Standoff Report; Officers Showed Restraint, Acted Honorably

Commendations could be on the way for three La Crosse police officers who were involved in a standoff with a naked man at the northside Walgreens drug store back in November.   26 year-old Stephen Meeks was wielding a knife and advancing on police during the standoff when one of the officers shot him with a “less lethal” beanbag round from a shotgun.  The bag stopped Meeks in his tracks, causing him to retreat and kept police from having to shoot to kill.  The internal board reviewing the standoff has recommended that the three officers receive commendations for their restraint and that they likely would have been justified with the use of deadly force to stop Meeks.