9/20/2024

BAYFIELD - A Bayfield Police officer is being sued by the estate of a person he hit with his squad car. Along with officer Lane Kolterman, the Bayfield Police Department, the City and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance company are also being sued. The Ashland County prosecutor late last year determined that Kolterman did not commit a crime when his squad car struck and killed 50-year-old Anthony “Tony” Gardner. The estate’s suit contends that Kolterman was careless, willful and reckless in his operation of the vehicle, while he was in training to be an officer, and should not have been permitted to operate a squad car without adequate training and supervision. Gardner was struck when Kolterman was searching for suspect, and the suit alleges that Kolterman was using his cell phone to access social media while he was driving. The suit is seeking compensatory damages due to the alleged negligence.