Honored for saving shooting victim

Numerous first responders — including sheriff’s deputies, detectives, dispatchers, Grafton police officers and paramedics — were honored last week for helping to save the life of a woman who, according to a criminal complaint, was shot at least three times by her husband at their Town of Grafton home in October.

Recognized in a ceremony at the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office last week were dispatchers Cassie Schwalbe, Morgan Krause, Sawyer Houpt and Jessica Medinger; detectives Mike Ganey and Zach Gierach; deputies Joe Tracy and Jonathan Chang; Sgt. Noah Eernisse and officer Patrick Brock of the Grafton Police Department; and members of the Central Ozaukee Fire Department.

Sheriff Christy Knowles also recognized the 12-year-old daughter of the woman who was shot, who called 911 and “whose actions were absolutely critical to the outcome of this incident.”

The girl called 911 at about 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 24 to report a fight between her parents, prompting law enforcement to respond to her home on Highway C south of Stonecroft Drive and north of Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve.

Because the Sheriff’s Office was experiencing a high call volume at the time, it requested assistance. 

Brock and Eernisse were the first to arrive at the house and were let in by the girl, who reported that her mother told her to call 911 and her father, Guy J. Paider, told her to get out of the house, according to the criminal complaint.

The officers noticed signs of a struggle, and after announcing their presence heard a woman screaming in a back bedroom.

The door to that room was locked, so Brock kicked it in and told the people inside to come out with their hands up. That is when Brock heard multiple gunshots, according to court testimony.

Believing the shots were being fired at them, Brock and Eernisse retreated down the hallway and again ordered the people in the bedroom to show their hands. Paider announced he was coming out of the room with his hands raised, then surrendered to the officers, according to the complaint.

Eernisse went into the bedroom to find Paider’s 48-year-old wife on the bed shot multiple times, including in the abdomen, leg and groin. 

He rendered aid until emergency medics arrived and moved the woman from the bed to the floor and worked to save her life. 

She was taken by ambulance to Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, then flown by a Flight for Life helicopter to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where she was in stable condition the following day, according to the Sheriff’s Office. 

The woman attended the awards ceremony last week but asked that her name not be used. The girl is not being named because she is underage.

In the bedroom, officers found a Kimber 1911 semi-automatic handgun with a bullet in the chamber and two in the seven-round magazine. Four bullets and shell casings were recovered from the room.

Three days after the shooting, the woman told Gierach and Ganey, who interviewed her in her hospital room, that Paider confronted her after she met with her lawyer regarding her divorce on Oct. 24. 

The woman said Paider sent their daughter to her bedroom, then threw her to the floor. She said she hit her head and began yelling for her daughter to call 911, the complaint states.

Paider then covered her mouth, the woman said, picked her up and carried her to the bedroom and threatened to shoot her before police arrived.

Earlier this month Paider was bound over for trial on charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree endangering safety. He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $3 million bail. 

Attempted first-degree intentional homicide is punishable by a maximum 40 years in prison and 20 years of extended supervision. First-degree recklessly endangering safety is punishable by a maximum 7-1/2 years in prison and five years of extended supervision. 

During an Oct. 30 bail hearing, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain ordered Paider to surrender any weapons he owns to the Sheriff’s Office and, if released from jail, submit to GPS monitoring.

Paider is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges he faces during an arraignment hearing on Jan. 22.

The charges Paider faces carry a domestic abuse surcharge and accuse him of committing his crimes with a dangerous weapon, which means the maximum prison term for each crime could be increased by five years if he is convicted. 

Knowles praised Schwalbe for her “excellent professionalism and compassion during the initial call, recognizing the immediate threat and providing calm reassurance to a frightened child,” while Krause, Houpt and Medinger coordinated the multi-agency response.

“Each of you displayed professionalism, teamwork and steady composure under pressure,” she said, awarding each of them the Sheriff’s Office Certificate of Excellence.

She awarded Ganey, Gierach, Tracy and Chang the Sheriff’s Office Life-Saving Award. 

“Your immediate actions, decision making and tactical medical skills played a direct role in saving the life of an innocent victim,” she said.

She also recognized Eernisse and Brock with the Sheriff’s Office Gold Coin of Excellence.

“In a smaller community, the strength of our public safety response depends on the willingness of agencies to support one another,” she said. “As the first officers on scene, they placed themselves directly in harm’s way to protect someone else and save a life.”

The daughter, who did not attend the ceremony, was awarded the Citizen’s Appreciation Coin.

  “In a moment of extreme crisis ... she clearly articulated the emergency. Because of her quick thinking and bravery, help was immediately dispatched,” Knowles said. 

Grafton Police Chief Jeff Caponera said during the incident “we witnessed what law enforcement is truly about — courage, selflessness and the unwavering commitment to protect life.”

“When (Eernisse and Brock) forced entry into that room and gunfire erupted at close range, they didn’t hesitate,” he said.

Caponera also praised Grafton Officer Adam Kern who cleared the residence to ensure everyone’s safety and then provided “care and reassurance to the daughter.

“In those moments of chaos and fear, he gave that child comfort and hope,” Caponera said.

Also recognized were Ozaukee Central Fire Department Assistant Chief Matt Karpinski, paramedic Allie Lindow and emergency medical technician Lorri Pitock, who received a Sheriff’s Office Bronze Coin.