Officer Down Memorial Page photo
http://www.odmp.org/officer/9626-patrol-officer-gerald-w-mork

© 2012 Keith #46875326 Find A Grave
Photo may be used for personal use and informational purposes with this attribution: Keith #46875326 Find A Grave

Remembering a fallen officer
Statue of Gerald Mork to be erected
Posted by: WaupacaNow , June 27, 2012

A bronze statue will be erected this summer in front of the Waupaca County Law Enforcement Center to memorialize an officer killed 27 years ago.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, July 14, 1985, Iola Police Officer Gerald Mork was found murdered in a cemetery. He had been shot twice in the back of the head.
The son of then-Sheriff William Mork, the 31-year-old Gerald Mork had served with the Iola police force just eight months prior to his murder.
The only other full-time Iola officer at the time was Police Chief Michael Schertz, 38, who would be charged with Mork's homicide in August.
In December 1985, a jury would acquit Schertz after a two-week trial. The murder remains officially unsolved.
Tom Hansen, who served as Iola's police chief from 1986 to 2006, was a part-time officer in 1985. He remembers the impact Mork's murder had on the people of Iola.
"It was very tragic for the community, for the entire county," Hansen said.
Hansen also worked with Mork as a volunteer firefighter and in Mork's construction business.
Prior to Mork becoming a full-time officer, he and Hansen worked as carpenters and general laborers, building homes and additions and installing roofs.
"He hired me right after I got out of the service," Hansen said.
Mork was also Iola's fire chief and an EMT. He was a member of the Jaycees, the Waupaca County Divers Association and the Waupaca County Fireman's Association. Mork was active in his church and was married with two children, ages 6 and 2.
"He was outgoing, fun-loving and very family-oriented. He thought the world of his kids," Hansen said. "He was hard working, honest and caring. I didn't know anybody that he would not give the shirt of his back to help."
Hansen served as Iola's officer-in-charge from the fall of 1985 until he was named police chief in December 1986.
He recalled that Mork's murder and the subsequent charges against Schertz were a shock to the community.
"It was devastating," Hansen said. "The whole thing pretty much wiped out the police department. The community lost all faith in law enforcement. It was a challenge to regain that trust after I took over."
Officer down
Mork's murder took place during the Iola Old Car Show. Iola officers and county deputies were working extra and longer shifts to deal with the 85,000 visitors to the area. There had been several fights reported, and people had been partying in the streets throughout the night.
Mork was on duty from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, July 14. At one point, he was called out to settle a dispute at an Iola restaurant after a group of bikers refused to pay their bill.
At approximately 4 a.m. Sunday, Thomas Doerr of Ogdensburg was sitting with some friends on a bench on Iola's Main Street. Doerr testified that he saw an Iola squad car turn north onto Main Street, then turn west onto State Highway 161 in the direction of Riverside Cemetery. He then saw a second squad car follow the first car on State 161.
A few minutes later, Doerr heard a loud bang that sounded like a large firecracker.
At about 4:30 a.m., Doerr saw an Iola squad car pass by, and he waved at the driver, whom he identified as Schertz.
At approximately 5 a.m., Waupaca County Sheriff's Sgt. James Kneisler began looking for Mork after he failed to respond to radio messages. About 20 minutes later, as he drove past the cemetery, Kneisler saw a squad car with its headlights on parked on the north end of the driveway.
Kneisler drove into the cemetery. There he discovered Mork lying face down on the ground next to his squad car. The car's engine was running. A flashlight found next to Mork's body was on and the officer's revolver was in his snapped holster.
A spent casing for a .380-caliber round was found under Mork's head and another by his knees.
Chief Deputy Robert Andraschko of the Waupaca County Sheriff's Department learned of the murder at approximately 5:30 a.m. He immediately contacted the Wisconsin Department of Justice for help in the investigation.
Within hours of the discovery of the body, a crime scene investigation was under way by members of the Waupaca County Sheriff's Department and the State Crime Lab.
The victim's father, Sheriff Mork, was at Pelican Lake on July 14. A sergeant from the Oneida County Sheriff's Department notified him of the murder. On the drive back to Waupaca, Sheriff Mork decided he should not participate in the investigation because the victim was his son, according to court documents.
Three days later, officers found a spent .380 round buried in the ground where Mork's body had been discovered. The State Crime Lab determined that the bullet had been manufactured in the 1960s or earlier and was consistent with having been fired from an Italian Beretta, Model 1934, .380 caliber....
--excerpt courtesy 46903714

Memorial at Waupaca County Law Enforcement Center.
© 2012 Keith #46875326 Find A Grave
May be used for personal use and informational purposes with this attribution: Keith #46875326 Find A Grave

Plaque on memorial base at Waupaca County Law Enforcement Center.
© 2012 Keith #46875326 Find A Grave
May be used for personal use and informational purposes with this attribution: Keith #46875326 Find A Grave

© 2012 Keith #46875326 Find A Grave
May be used for personal use and informational purposes with this attribution: Keith #46875326 Find A Grave