Man Enters Plea for Stabbing Mosinee Police Officer

Saturday, July 6th, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Heather Poltrock, WSAW) A 41-year-old man accused of stabbing a Mosinee police officer has agreed to the terms of a plea agreement and will avoid a jury trial.

According to Heather Poltrock with WSAW, Randy Beardsley pleaded no contest on Tuesday to battery to a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. In exchange for the pleas, a count of substantial battery was dismissed but will be considered during his sentencing hearing.

The incident happened on Feb. 25. Investigators from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office said around 2 a.m. that morning, Mosinee School Resource Officer Eric Krause saw a man lying on the sidewalk near 7th Street and Main Street in Mosinee and did a welfare check, as the temperatures were below freezing.

On the day of the incident, Mosinee Police Chief Ken Grams said Krause thought the man may need medical attention. He said Krause approached him, and Beardsley “physically engaged” with Krause; Krause pulled away or tried to “disengage” and that is when Krause was stabbed.

Krause was able to immediately call for emergency backup. Grams said Krause got himself a safe distance away from Beardsley, Krause pointed his duty pistol at him, gave commands, and Beardsley complied.

When other officers arrived, law enforcement says Beardsley did not follow police orders, and a Marathon County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was deployed. He was then taken into custody. Krause was taken to a safe location to stabilize with a tourniquet, and get initial emergency treatment before heading to a hospital for further medical care.

“That suspect immediately engaged with the officer in a negative fashion causing this incident. In terms of what the officer did, he did everything properly and per protocol,” Grams said following the incident. Officer Krause, who was stabbed, was treated and released from the hospital that day.

Beardsley was bitten by a K-9 during the incident and was released to the jail from the hospital a couple of days later. Several departments responded to the incident including the Mosinee Police Department, Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, Kronenwetter Police Department, Everest Metropolitan Police Department, Rothschild Police Department, Wausau Police Department, Mosinee EMS, Riverside EMS, and SAFER EMS.

Krause has been an officer for 16 years, including nine at the Mosinee Police Department. Though he is the school resource officer for the Mosinee School District, he was working overnight on Jan. 18-19 to fill in for another officer who was on vacation. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

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