Wisconsin: Files show ex-Marine wanted to die; Deputy in shooting was cleared of wrongdoing

By Todd Richmond Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A troubled former Marine who died in a hail of police gunfire last year tried to take his own life hours before forcing officers to shoot him, according to files state investigators released. A Columbia County Sheriff's deputy opened fire on 29-year-old Shaun Bollig last June during a tense early-morning standoff at Bollig's parents' home in Arlington. The deputy said Bollig came at him with a handgun. District Attorney Jane Kohlwey cleared the deputy of any wrongdoing several weeks after the incident, closing the case. The state Justice Department, which handled the investigation, recently released its files to The Associated Press in response to an open records request. The documents paint a picture of a despondent young man who apparently reached the breaking point after his fiancée of more than a year dumped him. They also showed he told two people he would force officers to shoot him. Bollig's friend, Michael Birkholz, told state agents that Bollig, who was living with his parents, had planned to visit his fiancée in South Carolina about a week before the standoff. She called him the day he was set to leave and told him she was seeing someone else. Birkholz and Bollig spent the day before the standoff shooting guns at Birkholz's cabin. On the drive there Bollig told Birkholz that he felt good about his life and "it was time to go" and killing himself was smarter than enduring "pain like this." He said he tried to kill himself the night before by overdosing on sleeping pills. Before Birkholz, Bollig and another friend went out that night, Birkholz told Bollig's mother to keep an eye on Bollig and she hid his pills. Early in the morning on June 27, Bolling accused his mother of hiding his pills. He went into the garage and his parents heard a shot. His father, Urban Bollig, found him in the garage with a silver .45 semi-automatic in his hand and said he appeared drunk. At one point Bollig slipped and the gun went off again, his father said. His mother called the sheriff's department. As deputies arrived, he marched down the driveway, pointing the gun at them. The deputies retreated. Bollig then climbed a tree and fired off another round. His father tried to talk him down, but Bollig told him the deputies weren't going to help him and "I'll make them have to shoot me." Birkholz said he got a call from Bollig around 3:30 a.m. saying he was in trouble. "I'm not going to jail," Bollig told him. "This is going to get interesting. I'm going to make them shoot me." Deputy Michael Haverly was standing guard on a highway that ran along the property when Bollig approached him with what looked like a pistol in his hand. Haverly told agents he yelled at Bollig several times to show his hands, but Bollig didn't respond. The deputy said he thought he heard a loud noise, thought Bollig was shooting at him and opened fire, hitting Bollig multiple times. Deputies found a handgun a few feet from Bollig. Kohlwey noted in a summary letter to Haverly that investigators recovered a spent cartridge from Bollig's handgun near where he went down. Haverly told agents he had no choice. Bollig was armed, had fired several shots, Haverly thought he had fired at him and Bollig might hurt others if he got away, Haverly said. Kohlwey agreed, saying in her letter Haverly's actions were reasonable. She didn't immediately return a message. U.S. Marine Corps records indicate Bollig served from 2000 until 2007. He worked as a flight equipment technician. Birkholz told agents he thought Bollig served in Iraq, but he spent only about a week there and was never formally deployed to the country. Bolling's parents didn't immediately return a message. According to the files, Urban Bollig told agents his son was taking anti-depressants prescribed through the military. He said he remembered his son as a "smiling, happy little boy." After he returned from the military he was "mad at everyone, especially women." Published: Thu, May 5, 2011