Wausau Police Department. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Following Sunday’s incident near Fern Island Park, the Wausau Police Department is asking residents to reach out to them directly with questions or concerns about a situation before spreading rumors.
Patrol Captain Todd Baeten said they were investigating an incident involving a person who may have been threatening to harm themselves, which isn’t uncommon. “We were concerned about that person, so officers were responding to that location to try to make contact and address that situation.”
He says that got more complicated when some erroneous information began to circulate on social media stating that there was an active shooter involved, which wasn’t the case. “There was a notable police presence in that area as we were attempting to locate the individual, but there was no active threat in that area.”
Baeten adds that there is nothing wrong with residents being concerned and looking out for each other, but before you go making assumptions about a situation he suggests calling the police department directly via the non-emergency number to ask questions about the incident. “We might not be able to tell you exactly what’s going on right away, but we will do our best to convey that information to the public on a wider scale.
“[People] want to broadcast any information that they feel would be helpful for other people. Unfortunately, in this instance, it didn’t pan out to be exactly what it was and it got some people concerned,” added Baeten.
He says not only will that allow you to be better informed about the incident, but it will also let the police know if they should be making a statement. “If we recognize that this is something that’s starting to [grab] public interest, then we can do our best to get a message out there via some of our communication avenues.”
Baeten adds that officers were able to deal with Sunday’s incident, and there was never a danger to the public.
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