Oconto Falls woman sentenced for shooting police officer in the head

Lina Portman1 week ago

6 5 minutes read

OCONTO — The benches were packed in an Oconto County courtroom Tuesday afternoon with supporters and relatives of a police officer who was shot and killed by a woman she was trying to help in 2021.

Alisha Kocken, 31, appeared in court to receive her sentence nearly three years after she attacked Oconto Falls police officer Nicole Blaskowski, grabbed her service firearm and fired three shots, one of which brushed Blaskowski's head.

“It was a matter of millimeters, of the will to survive and, by the grace of God, that I could be here to read my statement and not my husband on my behalf,” Blaskowski said in a victim impact statement that she read in the courtroom.

Blaskowski said she had been wondering what to say to Kocken for three years.

The former officer said her three children inspired her to fight for her life when Kocken attacked her. Blaskowski told Kocken she has them to thank for the reason Kocken is not facing a life sentence for homicide.

Blaskowski described the impact of the attack on his physical and mental health. She said it kept her from returning to work in law enforcement — a career path she had spent her entire adult life on.

“She decided for me that I would never be a cop again,” Blaskowski told Oconto County Circuit Court Judge Michael Judge.

She asked the judge to impose a long sentence that would deter others from using violence against police officers, and told Kocken: “My only request is that you use the time to become a better version of yourself.”

The judge sentenced Kocken, of Oconto Falls, to a total of 16 years in prison followed by 12 years of extended supervision. She has already served 1,054 days – almost 2 years and 11 months – of that sentence in the Oconto County Jail following her arrest.

After court adjourned, nearly everyone present at the hearing gathered in the hallway and waited for Blaskowski to exit the courtroom. When she did, she gave them tears of gratitude.

“There are so many people I want to thank, and I don’t even know where to start,” she said.

Among other things, she thanked her husband and children, prosecutors, the Oconto County Victim Witness Office and two people who helped stop the bleeding from her wound until first responders arrived after the attack.

Kocken pleaded no contest in August to one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, one count of resisting a police officer, one count of battery against a law enforcement officer and one count of disarming a a peace officer. However, she had continued to argue that she should not be held criminally responsible due to mental illness or defect – which would have allowed her to go to a mental health facility rather than prison — until she reached a plea deal in March.

As part of the plea agreement, attorneys for the prosecution and defense agreed to recommend a sentence of 13 years in prison, with an extended period of supervision at their discretion, provided Kocken withdraws his plea. 'insanity.

Kocken's defense attorney, John Miller Carroll, said Kocken had numerous mental health diagnoses and was suffering from psychosis when she attacked Blaskowski. Prosecutors argued that her psychosis was caused by high methamphetamine use, which special prosecutor Mark Williams claimed Blaskowski told a nurse she had taken earlier in the day of the attack.

The Oconto County Sheriff's Office did not order a blood test from Kocken until three days after the attack. Prosecutors — and Blaskowski — said that was a mistake because it could have given time for any traces of drugs to leave Kocken's system. If it had been established that Kocken had amphetamines in her system when she attacked Blaskowski, she would not have had grounds to pursue a defense of not guilty by reason of mental illness.

At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, Williams said he offered the plea deal because two doctors gave differing opinions about Kocken's mental health. One doctor said the psychosis could have been triggered by drug use, while the other said it would not have had a substantial impact on Kocken's psychosis.

During the prosecution's sentencing argument, Williams played a 13-minute audio recording of Blaskowski's entire interaction with Kocken, from her initial response at the apartment to the time she was shot and called for backup after realizing she was injured. Williams noted how “patient and understanding” Blaskowski acted throughout the call.

The recording matched information contained in a criminal complaint.

On August 6, 2021, Blaskowski went to Kocken's apartment in the 100 block of Elm Avenue in Oconto Falls for a report from Kocken that someone had attempted to kidnap her child.

According to the criminal complaint, the 911 dispatcher who spoke to Kocken thought she was “not providing appropriate details” and that the information “seemed suspicious.”

When Blaskowski arrived, she spoke with Kocken, who became increasingly upset and erratic during their conversation. Kocken's 6-year-old son and a man she was in a relationship with were in the apartment.

During the conversation, Kocken closed the door on Blaskowski and the man who were standing in the hallway. According to the audio, Blaskowksi asked the man what was going on and he told Blaskowski, “I think she's having a nervous breakdown or something.”

Kocken then opened the door to his apartment again and spoke with Blaskowksi. As Kocken became increasingly loud and combative, Blaskowski repeatedly tried to convince Kocken to calm down and talk to him.

Then the audio became chaotic with sounds of combat. The complaint says Kocken grabbed Blaskowski by the hair and forced her to the ground. Blaskowski tried to use her Taser on Kocken, but that didn't deter her.

Kocken then removed the gun from Blaskowski's waistband and fired three times. The first shot went into the hallway, while the second bullet hit Blaskowski's body armor. The third shot grazed Blaskowski's head.

Blaskowski then called for backup, after realizing she had a head wound that was bleeding profusely and did not know where Kocken had gone with the gun.

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Tearful sniffles could be heard from those in the gallery as the audio played.

Neither Williams nor Carroll gave a recommendation on how much time Kocken should spend on extended supervision.

Before the judge handed down Kocken's sentence, Kocken apologized to Blaskowski and everyone affected by her attack. She said she had a long history of mental health problems.

“I was misdiagnosed, overmedicated, undermedicated,” she said. “I honestly don't remember all the events that brought me here today. I'm sorry.”

Kocken also asked to be sent to the Wisconsin Resource Center, a facility where people sentenced to prison can serve their sentences while receiving mental health treatment.

The judge said he could not determine which facility Kocken was sent to, but that he undoubtedly had access to treatment and that she would have the opportunity to receive treatment resources while in prison.

The judge said his primary concern with Kocken's sentence was the need to protect the community. He added that “it’s not just the general public that needs to be protected from crazy individuals who abuse substances,” but also members of law enforcement.

Blaskowski's sentence is divided into 12 years in prison followed by six years of extended supervision for the attempted homicide charge, and one year in prison followed by two years of extended supervision for each of the other charges, all served consecutively.

Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.

Lina Portman

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