Wis. Cop Pulls Gun on Speeding Firefighter

Two adjacent public-safety departments in Dane County are at odds after a firefighter says he was subjected to excessive force by a police officer from a nearby village while trying to respond to a fire call.

Brooklyn volunteer firefighter Dan Dean, 37, alleges Oregon Police officer Ted Gilbertson overreacted when Gilbertson drew his gun and held it near Dean's head during a June traffic stop in the Brooklyn Fire Station parking lot.

Dean had just sped to the station in his private vehicle after being paged. Gilbertson had begun pursuing him several miles out, apparently in response to an earlier call elsewhere in the county of a motorist possibly impersonating a police officer. Both Dean and Gilbertson were using lights and sirens.

Dean has filed a $50,000 claim against the village of Oregon. The Oregon Police Department earlier dismissed his formal complaint.

Read the full Wisconsin State Journal story.