OCONTO – The benches were filled in an Oconto County courtroom Tuesday afternoon with supporters and loved ones of a police officer who was shot by a woman she was trying to assist in 2021.
Alisha Kocken, 31, appeared in court to receive her sentence nearly three years after she attacked Oconto Falls Police Officer Nicole Blaskowski, took her duty firearm and fired three shots, one of which grazed Blaskowski's head.
"It was a matter of millimeters, my will to survive and by God's grace that I'm able to be here to read my statement and not my husband on my behalf," Blaskowski said in a victim impact statement she read to the courtroom.
Blaskowski said she had been debating what to say to Kocken for the last three years.
The former officer said her three children were the incentive for her to fight for her life when Kocken attacked her. Blaskowski told Kocken she had them to thank for why Kocken is not facing a life sentence for homicide.
Blaskowski described the impact the attack had on her physical and mental health. She said it has prevented her from returning to work in law enforcement — a career path she had spent her entire adult life in.
"She decided for me that I will never be a cop again," Blaskowski told Oconto County Circuit Court Judge Michael Judge.
She asked the judge to deliver a lengthy sentence that would deter others from violence against police officers, and told Kocken, "my only ask of you is that you use the time to become a better version of yourself."
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 — or nearly 2 years and 11 months — of that sentence in Oconto County Jail following her arrest.
After court adjourned, nearly everyone who had been in attendance for the hearing gathered in the hallway and waited to Blaskowski to exit the courtroom. When she did, she tearfully addressed them with gratitude.
"There's so many people I want to thank, and I don't even know where to start," she said.
Among others, she thanked her husband and children, the prosecutors, the Oconto County Victim Witness Office, and two people who helped stop the bleeding to 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 an officer, one count of battery to a law enforcement officer and one count of disarming a peace officer. However, she had continued to pursue a defense that she should not be held criminally responsible due to reason of mental disease or defect — which would have allowed her to go to a mental health institution rather than a prison — until she entered a plea agreement in March.
Under the plea deal, both prosecution and defense attorneys agreed to recommend a sentence of 13 years in prison, with a term of extended supervision up to their discretion, under the condition that Kocken withdraw her insanity plea.
Kocken's defense attorney, John Miller Carroll, said Kocken has numerous mental health diagnoses and was experiencing psychosis when she attacked Blaskowski. Prosecutors argued her psychosis was caused by being high on methamphetamine, 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 draw from Kocken until three days after the attack. Prosecutors — and Blaskowski — said this was a mistake, because it may have allowed time for any trace of the drugs to leave Kocken's system. If Kocken had been found to have had amphetamines in her system when she attacked Blaskowski, she would not have had the grounds to pursue a defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease.
At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, Williams said he offered that plea agreement 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 that would not have had a substantial impact on causing 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 to the apartment to when she was shot and called for backup after realizing she was injured. Williams pointed out how "patient and understanding" Blaskowski behaved throughout the call.
The recording matched information in a criminal complaint.
On Aug. 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 tried to kidnap her child.
According to the criminal complaint, the 911 dispatcher who spoke to Kocken thought she was "not providing proper details" and 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 had been in a relationship with were in the apartment.
During the conversation, Kocken shut the door on Blaskowski and the man, who were standing in the hallway. According to the audio, Blaskowksi asked the man what was happening and he told Blaskowski, "I think she's having a nervous breakdown or something."
Kocken later opened the door to her apartment again and spoke with Blaskowksi. As Kocken grew increasingly loud and combative, Blaskowski repeatedly attempted to get Kocken to calm down and speak with her.
Then, the audio became chaotic with sounds of a fight. The complaint says Kocken grabbed Blaskowski by her hair and forced her to the ground. Blaskowski attempted to use her Taser on Kocken, but it did not deter her.
Kocken then removed the gun from Blaskowski's waistband and fired it three times. The first shot went into the hallway, while the second bullet struck Blaskowski's bullet-resistant vest. The third shot grazed Blaskowski's head.
Blaskowski then called for backup, after she realized she had a heavily bleeding head injury and did not know where Kocken had gone with the gun.
Tearful sniffs could be heard from people in the gallery while the audio was played.
Neither Williams nor Carroll gave a recommendation for how much time Kocken should spend on extended supervision.
Before Judge delivered Kocken's sentence, Kocken apologized to Blaskowski and to everyone impacted by her attack. She said she has a lengthy history of mental health issues.
"I've been misdiagnosed, overmedicated, undermedicated," she said. "I honestly don't recall all the events that got me here today. I'm sorry."
Kocken also requested to be sent to Wisconsin Resource Center, a facility where people sentenced to prison can serve time while receiving mental health treatment.
Judge said he cannot determine which facility Kocken is sent to, but that he has no doubt treatment she will have opportunities to receive treatment resources during her time in prison.
Judge said his primary concern for Kocken's sentence is the need to protect the community. He said "it isn't just the general public who needs to be protected from crazed individuals who abuse substances," but also members of law enforcement.
Blaskowski's sentence is divided in 12 years in prison followed by six years of extended supervision on the attempted homicide charge, and one year in prison followed by two years of extended supervision on each of the other charges, all served consecutively.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.
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