TOMAH, Wis. – Police talked a Tomah man out of killing himself and police officers – and took him into custody after an hour of negotiating. Authorities had been summoned to the Econo Lodge to remove a man from his hotel room after he refused to leave. When police knocked, he refused to open the door and told officers he had a .22 caliber pistol. Hotel guests were evacuated and nearby parking lots at McDonald’s and Kwik Trip were blocked off. In the process of negotiating, the man locked himself out of the room and partially barricaded himself near a stairwell on the second floor. The stand-off ended without gunfire – indeed, police said, the man didn’t have a gun. Arrested was Russell Clausen, 36, who was already on probation from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Clausen. Faces felony and misdemeanor charges. Hotel just off I-94. at 2005 North Superior Avenue.