OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Oshkosh police invited the public to a "unity walk" in the city's downtown in response to the deadly shooting of police officers in Dallas.

"The recent events of the last few days involving police and communities across the United States should bring us closer together rather than farther apart," the police department wrote in a post on its Facebook page.

The walk began just after noon at Opera House Square. The walk then proceeded on the sidewalk on N. Main Street to Irving Avenue.

STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Police are investigating a theft of money from a Sturgeon Bay movie theater.

Officials were called Wednesday morning to the Sturgeon Bay Cinema. They found that someone broke into the theater, got into a safe in the office and stole around $2,000.

Also broken into were video game machines with coins stolen.

Police are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, or knows someone who recently came into possession of a large amount of cash or coins, to call them at (920) 746-2450, or submit a tip on their Facebook page.

MISHICOT, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities say a missing ball python that got loose in Mishicot has been found.

A photo of the captured snake was posted to the village's Facebook page Friday.

Mishicot police officers were called to an apartment building in the 500 block of Main Street around 10:15 p.m. Thursday for a report of a snake on a tenant's patio. Officers spotted the python hiding behind a large plastic container near an exterior wall of the building.

Wildlife of Wisconsin was called in to help trap the 4-foot snake. Police then turned the animal over to the group. The python appeared to be alive and well. 

The search for the snake had been going on since June 27, when police say the snake's owners found it attacking their poodle. The owners got the python off the dog and tossed the snake off the balcony of their apartment building.

The area where the snake was found is near the apartment from which it was thrown.

The owners were given tickets for obstructing an officer. Police say they misled officers during the initial investigation.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - The Appleton woman charged with killing her husband has pled not guilty.

A trial date has not been set for Tina Hafeman. She's accused of killing Chad Hafeman on May 27 at their Appleton home.

A court official indicates that Tina Hafeman returns to court for a status conference on August 29. 

Police say Chad Hafeman was stabbed multiple times during a domestic dispute.

MARINETTE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - It's a somber anniversary in Marinette County on Saturday for family and friends, along with law enforcement, of David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys.

Back on July 9, 1976, the 25-year-old Schuldes and his girlfriend Matheys, who was 24, had set up their campsite at McClintock Park in the Town of Silver Cliff.

The couple went out on a walk when Schuldes was shot and killed. His body was found in the park. Authorities say Matheys's body was discovered in a wooded area outside the park. She had been sexually assaulted, then shot and killed.

The Marinette County Sheriff's Department says the case is still an open investigation and advances in DNA and technology keep them hopeful in identifying a suspect in the case.

If anyone has any new information, they are encouraged to contact the Marinette County Sheriff's Office at (715) 732-7607 or Crime Stoppers at (715) 732-7625 or 1-800-427-5857.

UNDATED (WTAQ) - A state lawmaker in northeast Wisconsin wants to make targeting law enforcement officers a hate crime.

Wisconsin State Rep. David Steffen (R-Howard) has scheduled a news conference on Monday morning at the Brown County Sheriff's Office to announce his initiative.

"Every day our police officers place themselves in harm's way in order to protect and serve our communities," Steffen said in a news release. "Over the past several weeks I have been working on the 'Blue Lives Matter' initiative which works to protect those who protect us. I strongly believe that anyone who targets these brave men and women, solely because of their profession, should face serious penalties. This legislation sends a clear message that the despicable attacks we've seen against officers throughout the country will not be tolerated in Wisconsin."

The bill will be modeled after a similar law passed earlier this year in Louisiana.

Sheriff's officials say they will also provide comments at the Monday news conference.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Despite not knowing what caused a crash last month on the Zippin Pippin, the State Department of Safety has deemed the roller coaster safe and it will reopen to riders on Saturday.

• You can read the letter of acceptance released by state officials Friday

This week, inspectors watched several "load tests", which consist of the ride being run with water barrels instead of people. There were no problems during the tests.

• Read the manufacture's report here

On June 20, three people were injured with train cars collided on the ride at Bay Beach Amusement Park.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Dallas is in mourning Friday after five officers were shot and killed in what's being called the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11.

The shooting began Thursday night as demonstrators protested the recent shooting deaths of African-Americans by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.  

Reverberations from that shocking incident are being felt here in northeast Wisconsin.

"It's a very sad day in law enforcement to think that these communities of people feel that it's okay to go ahead and assassinate police officers for their cause," says Capt. Jody Crocker with Ashwaubenon Public Safety. "As a department and in law enforcement as a whole, we all stand together in trying to do the right thing in trying to protect everyone no matter what."

Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas calls the massacre in Dallas "heart wrenching."

"We just need to slow down and remember we're all in this together," Thomas told FOX 11.

Thomas said Friday that Wisconsin agencies are different from those in other parts of the country with their use of force techniques.

Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith and other officers wore black mourning bands over their badges Friday.

"It was like a gut punch," Smith said. "We recognize that cops are going to make mistakes sometimes. When they make mistakes we need to hold them accountable, but I think that will go a long way towards hopefully making our future a little bit brighter."

Smith reminds everyone that policing is not something you do to a community, it's you do with a community.

U.S. SENATORS REACT

Wisconsin's two U.S. Senators each offered their reactions to what happened in Dallas Thursday night.

"It's depressing," said Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson before a roundtable discussion on veterans issues in Green Bay. "There's a movement, there's an element and there are political figures in this country that are stoking the fires of people that are actually putting targets on the back of men and women who serve this country trying to keep our streets safe. This has got to end."

Johnson, who chairs the Senate's Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, declined to specify names of whom he was referring to.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin wrote in a tweet, "We must stand together and give voice to the peace and unity in our hearts."

Johnson added that he wants to work on a path forward to heal our country.

"How many press release things I've had to send out where the opening line is: our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," Johnson said. "We have to end this. I don't ever want to send another one of those things out, but I know I'll have to."

WISCONSIN TIES

A woman originally from Dodge County was among the police officers injured during Thursday's sniper attack.

WISC-TV in Madison reported that 23-year-old Gretchen Rocha was among those hospitalized in the wake of the attack, after she was hit by shrapnel. Rocha, who used to live in Fox Lake, was released Friday morning.

Rocha earned an associate's degree in criminal justice at Madison College. Madison Police say she was also an intern with the agency. She recently moved to North Texas to join the Dallas police force.

Police have identified the suspect in the shooting as 25-year-old Micah Johnson. Dallas Police say he reportedly told negotiators he was upset about recent police shootings and wanted to kill white officers. Johnson was killed by a bomb carried by a police robot, after negotiations broke down and officers feared he could not be taken safely.

(Additional reporting by Wisconsin Radio Network)

STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Sturgeon Bay had to taze a man after making threats and lunging at officers.

Officers say a 32-year-old man was arrested on July 4 in front of city hall on a warrant and was initially cooperative until he was told he would be going to jail.

According to police, the man allegedly lunged at an officer, pushing the officer back and grabbing onto his vest and yelling, "Just kill me."

Police struggled with the man but had to use a Taser to gain control of the suspect.

The suspect was checked out by medical staff. One officer received a cut to his arm.

Police say that due to the suicidal comments the suspect made, a crisis worker was called in. The man was eventually transported to mental health facility for observation. Once he is released from the facility he will be transported to jail on the original warrant.

Additional charges will be referred to the District Attorney's office which may include battery to a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

CRIVITZ, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities in Marinette County say a woman drowned while tubing on the Peshtigo River Saturday.

The body of the 26-year-old Green Bay woman was found by a Crivitz resident, helping in the search, just after 7 p.m.

According to officials, the woman disappeared from a group of tubers around 4:09 p.m.

The investigation is ongoing and officials say the woman's name is not being released at this time.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Zippin Pippin roller coaster reopened after being closed for 19 days following a crash which sent three people to the hospital.

On the maiden voyage, Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith joined Mayor Jim Schmitt.

"We have some great engineers, we have some great folks at our parks department, so I'm really not worried at all," Smith told FOX 11.

Schmitt said no real repairs were made to the ride and they have not yet discovered why the train car failed to stop before crashing into another one.

"We didn't find anything wrong or else we would have pin pointed the cause. The brake cylinders were looked at and tuned, but there was nothing wrong with them, the ride operators were trained," said Schmitt.

For now, the coaster will only run with one train car, so there is no possibility of them running into each other again.

Parks Director Dawne Cramer said the ride was tested more than 100 times.

"I think it was healthy for us to go through a recertification," said Schmitt, "I think it was good for us to do the re-training and we just feel very confident today."

One violation inspectors noticed was missing operator training records.

But Schmitt said the operator who was there at the time of the crash had operated the coaster many times. And that it is an easy ride to operate.

"It's just more consistent training. Every city, every government, private sector, you go through upgrading your training manual and we did that," said Schmitt.

All in all, Schmitt said the crash set revenue back about $40,000, in addition to a few thousand dollars in repairs.

"Dollar for dollar, day for day the park is ahead of last year even with the Zippin Pippin being down," he said.

Some riders were still a little skeptical.

"I thought I'd give it a month or so to see if it was okay, because I didn't want to be one of the first guinea pigs to go on it," said Chris Kimminau of Pulaski.

Schmitt gave park patrons free rides for the first 19 minutes of the re-opening for the number of days the ride was closed.

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WHBL-KFIZ) -- Oshkosh Police have a suspect in custody after he allegedly made a bomb threat at a Walmart on Sunday.  

Police say a man made that threat to a clerk as he was leaving the store. Police were called in to search the building, but no devices were found.  

The suspect has not been identified, but is a 29-year-old male.  He was arrested around 5:20 pm on Sunday and taken into custody on a probation hold. Charges are being referred to the District Attorney's office, and his name is being withheld pending formal charges.  

DODGE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - Dodge County sheriff's officials are happy to report that three teens who have been missing since Sunday afternoon have been found safe.

16-year-olds Tate Rose and Zachary Heron, along with 15-year-old Samuel Lein, were located just before 1 p.m. Monday. Authorities say they weren't hurt, except for some scrapes and bruises.

According to Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, one of the boys admitted that they went into the abandoned mine around 3 p.m. Sunday. The teens could not get out of the mine and spent the night sleeping in a cave. They were unable to contact anyone outside the cave, because the batteries in their cell phones had run out.

The boy also said, according to Schmidt, they were not playing a game on their smartphones. This was after some people in the community had asked if they were playing Pokémon Go, a game similar to a virtual scavenger hunt.

The boys were reported missing around 9:45 p.m. Sunday. Their bicycles were found near the cave, which led the search to focus on that area.

Several fire and rescue crews were called in to help in the search, from as far away as Appleton, Madison and Milwaukee.

The mine is owned by UW-Milwaukee, which conducts bat research at the site. Schmidt says for now charges aren't being considered, even though they were trespassing at the mine.

FLORENCE, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities have issued a Silver Alert for a Florence County man.

76-year-old Gerald T. Noeske was last seen at 11 a.m. Sunday. 

Noeske is described as 6'1", 180 pounds with short gray hair and blue eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a red plaid short-sleeve shirt. He was also wearing glasses without lenses.

Noeske is driving a gold 1998 Ford F-150 pickup truck with a black aluminum cap. The truck has a Vietnam veteran sticker on the back window. Its license plate number is JZ5286.

Noeske, who is a retired truck driver, has gone missing before. Last time, he turned up at a truck stop in Ozaukee County.

Anyone with information is asked to call Florence County authorities at (715) 528-3346.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - A number of animals recently abandoned at the Oshkosh Area Humane Society is prompting the group to issue a reminder.

"We definitely don't want this to become a trend. Although we understand surrendering a pet can be extremely difficult and we are thankful they are being brought to the shelter, information from the previous owner is a very important part of helping the animal," said OAHS Executive Director, Joni Geiger. "We gather this information so we can provide the best care possible and match the animal with the right family. It's a short amount of time but it can mean so much for the animal's future. Even if the animal is a stray we want to know where they were found to help us in locating their owner."

Last Thursday, two puppies were found in a fenced area on the property. This past weekend someone placed a cat in the lobby and left before anyone could approach them, and 3 more dogs were found abandoned in another fenced area on Sunday.

Geiger said the first step in surrendering an animal is to call (920) 424-2128. If the shelter isn't open and you find a stray animal call your local police department and they can contact the appropriate people.

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ) - Oconto police are investigating after over 70 U.S. flags were snapped off of a fence line and left lying on the ground.

Oconto Police Chief Bernie Faith says the damage was reported on Sunday afternoon, and is estimated at about $65.

The flags were attached to the fence along Brazeau Avenue. About 75 of the sticks were snapped off, with the flags tossed on the ground. They've already been replaced by the American Legion.

Some of the in-ground lights along the fence line were also unscrewed.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (920) 834-7700.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - For the second time, leaders at an Appleton church say its "Black Lives Matter" banner has been stolen.

According to officials at the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, the banner was attached to a sign outside their church at 2600 E. Philip Lane. It had been hanging there for almost 2 years.

"The recent deaths of African American men during police encounters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and St. Paul, Minnesota, and the sniper killings of police officers in Dallas have increased the number of phone calls and conversations that the banner provokes," Rev. Kathleen Rolenz, interim senior minister, said in a news release. "We hang the banner to invite those conversations, so that we can tell other white people what 'Black Lives Matter' means to the white people in this congregation."

The apparent theft is "an act of 'political vandalism' and a 'cowardly' way to express a point of view," the statement continues.

Rolenz says the congregation's display of the banner "is consistent with support for the safe and constitutional policing that police chiefs everywhere endorse."

The congregation plans to re-hang a new banner Friday afternoon. Members of the community are invited to attend the ceremony, meeting in the building at 5:30 p.m.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay man found not guilty by reason of mental disease in the deaths of his dogs was approved for a treatment and supervision plan.

Back in September, firefighters were called to the Klaus Street home of Paul Phillips. Inside, crews found 8 dead Rottweilers. Phillips told police he was being evicted, and set the fire to kill himself and to get rid of his dogs.

Phillips pled no contest to a count of criminal damage to property (reduced from an arson count), one count of mistreating animals causing death and one count of recklessly endangering safety in May. Then he was found not guilty due to his mental condition.

In court Monday, Judge Kendall Kelley approved the treatment plan, but the specifics of that plan were not discussed in court.

KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ) - One lucky Fox Valley resident is $3.6 million richer.

Lottery officials say Kenneth Rapp of Kaukauna won a Megabucks drawing on April 30. He bought the winning ticket at the Lighthouse Corner convenience store at 1005 Crooks Avenue.

Retailers get a 2 percent incentive of the winning ticket up to $100,000.

Megabucks drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday night. The current jackpot is estimated at $1.1 million.

BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) - One area state lawmaker says law enforcement officers should be a protected class.

Wisconsin State Rep. David Steffen (R-Howard) unveiled his so-called "Blue Lives Matter" bill during a press conference back by police chiefs and sheriffs from across the region.

"We have an important message to send as a Legislature, as a state that we will always be behind, and supporting and protecting our law enforcement officers at all times," Steffen said Monday. "Same protected class as hate crimes that are done against someone because of their ethnicity, because of their race, because of their disability."

The bill would provide some flexibility to district attorneys and judges that would increase every crime from a misdemeanor to a felony on a sliding scale, including up to 5 years in additional imprisonment and $5,000 in extra fines.

"I am overwhelmed by the level of support I have already received for this proposal from members of law enforcement as well as residents from across our state," says Steffen. "Now, perhaps more than ever, it is paramount that our officers know they are proudly supported."

It's modeled after legislation which was approved in Louisiana this past May, and had been in the works before Steffen says last Thursday's fatal shootings of five police officers during a protest in Dallas sped up this process.

IMPORTANT FIRST STEP

While attacking police has become a hot topic recently, so has the issue of police brutality against people, specifically blacks, which sparked the recent incident in Dallas. Steffen made it a point to say that he's not choosing one side of this issue over another.

"There are many steps that we, as a community, as a society, need to take to show unity, to show support and respect for others," Steffen explains. "This bill is not at the exclusion of any of those initiatives. Is it separate? You bet. But if you think there's a single opportunity for a single piece of legislation that can solve all the issues, please let me know, I'd be happy to author that too. But I felt it was important, especially under the light of the circumstances of this particular situation last Thursday, that we take this step."

Steffen went on to say that he's open and interested in being part of this larger dialogue moving forward.

APPRECIATE THE BADGE

Brown County Sheriff John Gossage, whose department hosted Monday's press conference, spoke about the importance of this bill.

"We all know the inherent dangers of law enforcement," says Sheriff Gossage. "This legislation action is necessary because a crime is done strictly out of hatred for the badge, the uniform."

Gossage, however, could not provide a specific example about a prior incident where this type of hate crime enhancement penalty would've properly been applied.

"We're living in a more volatile society, there's no doubt about that," Gossage says. "And every time our men and women go out on calls, we're thankful that they come back uninjured. We have a number of officer injuries that don't include assaultive behavior because of the sheer nature of the job. It's one of those professions that it's inherently you're in a dangerous situation."

The Wisconsin State Legislature is out of session until January, so the bill could not be introduced or debated until then, unless a special session were called. Steffen hopes the bill will be Assembly Bill 1 in the 2017 session.