Man who stabbed deputy could be sent back to mental institution
CHIPPEWA FALLS — A Menomonie man who was convicted of stabbing a Chippewa County deputy in August 2018 could soon be headed back to a mental health institution on a commitment order.
Travis A. Abbiehl, 41, was convicted in Chippewa County Court in December 2019 of first-degree reckless injury-use of a dangerous weapon and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Abbiehl pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. He stabbed Chippewa County Deputy Andrew Clark in the left shoulder on Aug. 25, 2018, at a home in the town of Wheaton. After that plea, Abbiehl was confined in the Mendota Mental Health Institute.
In April 2022, Chippewa County Judge Steve Gibbs agreed to a conditional release plan. Although Abbiehl was released from the institution, he still is being supervised by the Department of Health Services for 15 years. Abbiehl has been living at a home in Stanley for the past two years.
However, the state filed a notice for a revocation hearing in April, and the hearing was slated to be held last week. Court records don’t indicate why the state asked for the revocation. However, Gibbs opted to postpone the hearing and re-set a status conference for June 17.
At the time of the sentencing, Gibbs said Abbiehl has a history of problems when he stops taking medication prescribed to him, and required him to take them.
The incident began when authorities received a call at 9:49 a.m. Aug. 25, 2018, from a home on 90th Street, near Highway 29, in the town of Wheaton. When authorities arrived, Abbiehl had already let his brother go, but he had locked himself inside a vehicle, still armed with the knife.
Once they got the car door open, Clark attempted to use a Taser on Abbiehl, but it was ineffective.
Clark avoided the first stabbing attempt by Abbiehl, but a second swing of Abbiehl’s knife entered Clark’s left shoulder, from a downward swinging motion.
Abbiehl was initially placed in a mental health facility, but was later found to be competent and was transferred to the Chippewa County Jail.
Clark was treated and released from a hospital in Eau Claire after the incident and recovered at home; he returned to work in September 2018.
Online court records show Abbiehl was found not guilty of disorderly conduct by reason of mental disease or defect in 2011, and he was being housed at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison after that incident.
A sign language interpreter has been used in all court proceedings, as Abbiehl is deaf and cannot speak. Defense attorney Richard Yonko previously told the court that Abbiehl lost his hearing due to contracting meningitis as a child, and he grew up in a home where no one knew sign language. Abbiehl has had a number of psychiatric evaluations. Yonko noted that Abbiehl has held jobs and had success in his life. However, he does have a history of drug and alcohol issues, and he has learning difficulties, Yonko said.
