Andrew A. Krakow

1948-1990
Researched by Judith Borke,
Wisconsin Conservation Warden Museum

Andrew A. Krakow, conservation warden at Montello, was assisting the Marquette County Sheriff's Department with a domestic disturbance call on June 5, 1990 when he was killed by a 13-year-old boy. He was the first responding officer to arrive at the scene after the boy threatened to kill his mother with a gun.

The previous week, police picked the boy up after he ran away from home, and his parents began feeling threatened by him. On June 5, the youth threatened his mother, at which time she called the sheriff's office and barricaded herself in their home. The boy drove a pick-up truck to his grandparents' home, where he apparently went to get a rifle. Krakow advised officers by radio about 11:00 a.m. that he had located the truck, and as he arrived at the house, was shot by the youth before he could get out of his squad car or defend himself. Sheriff Department deputies arrived in time to see the boy drop the weapon and run. He was chased on foot and captured. He was later sentenced to confinement at Lincoln Hills School for Boys near Merrill until 25 years of age.

Krakow was born in Washington, D.C. on September 12, 1948. He attended graded and high schools in Fall River, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1971 with a forestry degree. He joined the Department of Natural Resources warden service on January 5, 1976, and served at Delavan and Wausaukee before arriving at Montello in August, 1988.

Krakow, 41, was well-liked and respected by his colleagues and the communities in which he served. About 270 law enforcement officers from 80 agencies across the Midwest, and 160 wardens from Wisconsin, the Midwest and Canada, were among the 1,000 people who attended his funeral at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Montello. He was survived by his wife Jill and his children, Angela, 14, and Travis, 11.

Memorials to Andy Krakow are numerous:

1. The Andrew Krakow Memorial at Montello Ranger Station, established in 1990, consisting of a granite marker, maple tree and flag pole with plaque, given by family members, school children and Bond's Auto Body;
2. The Andy Krakow Memorial at Fall River City Park, established in 1990, a granite marker and red maple tree given by his father and a friend;
3. Andy Krakow Memorial at Wausaukee Ranger Station, 1992, a granite marker inscribed with his name and likeness, given by the citizens of Wausaukee and Marinette County;
4. Andrew Krakow Memorial Public Fishing Area in Montello at the Fox River Dam by Highway 22, 1993, consisting of a public fishing area with handicapped access pier, parking and picnicking areas, provided by the City of Montello and the DNR;
5. The Wisconsin Conservation Warden Association-Andrew A. Krakow Memorial Scholarship, given annually to a junior or senior-year student at UW-Stevens Point majoring in a natural resources field, with preference toward those minoring in law enforcement; and
6. Inscription of Andrew Krakow's name at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C., the American Police Hall of Fame Memorial Wall in Miami, FL, and the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial on the State Capitol grounds in Madison, WI.

(Sources: WI State Journal, Madison, 6/61990, p.1, and 6/9/1990, p.1; Green Bay Press Gazette, 6/7/1990; WI Trooper, 8/1990, pp.12-13; DNR Digest, June/July 1990, p.1, and Nov./Dec. 1993, p.5; memorial forms at Conservation Warden Museum. Photos.)