(Courtesy of Portage Co. Jail).

By Patrick Lynn

A Manawa man has faced the first of what could be many court appearances following his alleged attack on a Plover police officer.

Brett Lieberman, 33, was given $100,000 cash bond on Aug. 20 by Court Commissioner David Worzalla. Lieberman stands accused of trying to attack a police officer with a knife.

The events unfolded on August 8, when someone called police to report an erratic driver westbound on Highway 54 in Plover. The driver, Lieberman, was pulled over by Plover police officer Andrew Hopfensperfer.

But Hopfensperger wasn’t able to cite the man for his alleged bad driving- according to a press release from the Plover Police Department, Lieberman immediately jumped from his vehicle and “very quickly” came towards the squad car while brandishing a knife. According to the press release, Hopfensperger fired his department- issued  weapon at Lieberman in self defense, sending the man to the hospital for treatment of bullet wounds. Lieberman was airlifted to an undisclosed hospital but has since been released.

The Portage County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin State Patrol assisted Plover police at the scene of the crime on August 8. Law enforcement had blocked off several blocks of Highway 54 and set up mobile lighting units for more than ten hours to complete their investigation. Hopfensperger was not injured in the incident but has been placed on adminis- trative leave while the investigation runs its course. Plover Police Chief Dwayne Wierzba said that’s standard practice in any officer-involved shooting.

Lieberman has been scheduled to make his initial appearance in Circuit Court on Sept. 2.