WAUKESHA 鈥 When father-son duo James and Ted Oswald unleashed a crime spree across several Waukesha County communities 30 years ago Sunday, they forever changed the course of many lives but in the process also imparted lessons that affect the entire county and well beyond to this day.
James Oswald, then 49, and his son Ted, then 18, robbed a bank in Wales, stole a car near Pewaukee, got into a shootout with police that left Waukesha Police Capt. James Lutz dead and two other officers injured, kidnapped a woman and stole her van, and were not stopped until they crashed the van into a tree amid a hail of bullets. The elder Oswald is serving a sentence of more than 800 years after being convicted on 20 felony counts, including homicide for the murder of Lutz and 10 counts of attempted homicide. He is serving his sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. Ted Oswald, now 47, is serving two life terms, plus 360 years in prison after he was convicted of murder, taking a hostage, eight counts of attempted homicide and other felony counts.
"That was a day that many people will never forget," said Gary Bach, retired chief of the City of Pewaukee Police Department, who was a sergeant in what was then the Town of Pewaukee at the time he responded to the incidents. "You can talk to some older people, it鈥檚 almost like when Kennedy got killed. They remember where they were at."
Paul Bucher remembers where he was at 鈥 in court, running a routine traffic calendar as district attorney, when Deputy D.A. Mike Bundy came in and told him of Lutz being, as Bucher put it, "executed." Bucher ran from the courtroom to the scene near Meadowbrook Road and Rolling Ridge Drive. He said Lutz and Waukesha Police Officer Tom Fletcher were there waiting for the Oswalds 鈥 it was later learned they were headed to the Country Inn Hotel, where they had another vehicle loaded with weapons and ammo prepared. Lutz and Fletcher gave chase, but the Oswalds stopped, got out of their car, and Ted approached Lutz鈥檚 car firing a high-powered rifle, killing Lutz from about 5 feet away. Fletcher emptied his gun returning fire, but the Oswalds fled, with Fletcher giving chase.
"I remember asking Tom afterward, I said, 鈥楾om, what the hell are you doing? You didn鈥檛 have a firearm that was loaded, no shotgun or nothing.鈥 I remember him looking at me and he said, 鈥楾hey just executed my captain. I was not gonna stop.鈥 Those are the types of heroes we had back then and to this day."
Bach said he heard the call come in over the radio about a bank robbery, then later that Lutz and Fletcher were giving chase, with Fletcher announcing "shots fired and an officer was down."
Bach made his way to the scene, ending up near the residence of Judy Opat, whom the Oswalds kidnapped while they stole her van. But before entering her residence, James Oswald fired at Bach. Bach later saw the garage door open, Opat鈥檚 van pulled out with the Oswalds driving it down the street, rifles coming out both sides of the van, blasting away. Bach fired back as they passed, emptying his gun at them.
鈥淚 could hear the gunfire, the whizzing of the bullets off the pavement. It was crazy,鈥 Bach said.
Bach said these were the most shots ever fired in a criminal event that was captured on live TV at that time. More than 250 in total, and more than 160 landing in the van. The Oswalds collided with a tree going 50 mph but survived by wearing armor. The Oswalds were pinned inside it, with authorities learning later Ted had a handgun underneath the passenger seat but was unable to get to it, Bucher said. A county plow truck was brought in to provide cover for officers as they approached the van.
鈥淚 just remember a moment of silence after the shooting. I thought with amount of bullets fired it was unbelievable, and someone had to be been killed or shot,鈥 Bach said.
Remembering the victims
Bucher said he has so many vivid memories of that day, and he named several of the officers who responded and where they were among the many responding entities 鈥 鈥渇rom every agency in the alphabet.鈥 In addition to Lutz, Tom Duemling of the Hartland Police Department and Waukesha County Sheriff鈥檚 Department Det. Tom Lentz were also struck by gunshots. Opat, who seized an opportunity to jump from the van before the Oswalds crashed it, also sustained a gunshot wound, Bucher said.
There are two police officers listed on Waukesha鈥檚 memorial to officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, and Bach is connected to both. George Schmidling, killed on the job June 11, 1961, was an uncle of Bach鈥檚 鈥 Bach recently spearheaded an effort to upgrade the marker at Schmidling鈥檚 final resting place 鈥 and Bach knew Lutz personally.
鈥淗e was an absolutely fantastic person, he really was. He was a cop鈥檚 cop. He was a people person,鈥 Bach said. 鈥淚n the early 鈥80s I was a relatively new cop. I get contacted by Jim Lutz 鈥 he wasn鈥檛 a captain then; I don鈥檛 remember what rank he was, but he contacted me and said 鈥業 understand Detective Schmidling was your uncle. I鈥檇 like to meet you over at the range.鈥 So I went over to the range and he proudly showed off that he and the city of Waukesha had the range dedicated and named after George, (with) all these memorabilia and articles about George. He showed me all that and he was so proud of that he accomplished it. It was so ironic, that would have been about 1984 and 10 years later ... Captain Lutz became the second one. The same man that showed me what he had done with George with the range. It was pretty crazy.鈥
For almost all of the intervening anniversaries of Lutz鈥檚 murder, Bach has attended a private gathering with members of the Lutz family and Waukesha police officers, meeting where Lutz died on Rolling Ridge Drive, and leaving roses at the site of his death. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty emotional,鈥 Bach said.
Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said Lutz is still remembered by the department, as well as all the officers who were part of the incident.
鈥淥n this solemn occasion marking the 30th anniversary of Captain James Lutz鈥檚 line of duty death, we honor their courage, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to protecting and serving our community. Their selflessness serves as a timeless reminder of the risks our law enforcement officers face daily, and their memory continues to inspire us all,鈥 he said in a statement. 鈥淭oday, we pause to reflect on their legacy and express our deepest gratitude for their service. They will forever remain in our hearts and minds.鈥
Lessons learned
Bucher said he knew very early on this would be the biggest case of his prosecutorial career. With the help of assistant DAs Pablo Galaviz and Lloyd Carter, now a judge, they set up a 鈥渨ar room鈥 in the sheriff鈥檚 department, with thousands of pages of reports in addition to other evidence. In intake court, Jim Oswald, appearing in a stretcher 鈥 his son also appeared in a wheelchair 鈥 鈥渄isplayed his personality of being a total jerk, anti-government animus, screaming and yelling, handcuffed to the stretcher. At that moment, I realized this was going to be a lifelong case,鈥 Bucher said, starting the 鈥淥swald odyssey鈥 that took about three years.
The Wales Bank One wasn鈥檛 the only bank they robbed 鈥 two other heists elsewhere preceded that 鈥 and simple greed was the pair鈥檚 motivating factor, Bucher said.
Bucher said the idea that the son was forced into the crimes was 鈥渃rap.鈥 Diaries Ted kept contained diagrams of what to do if confronted by the police, and he鈥檇 made notations that Jim Oswald was getting 鈥渟loppy and careless, and so Ted became the brains of the operation,鈥 Bucher said.
A training video was made with the help of state and area law enforcement agencies, Bucher and Bach said, in part to honor those who responded but also to educate officers about responding to extremely violent situations where they may be outgunned. Bach said the video took about a year to put together, and afterwards he was contacted by police departments around the country and from as far away as England 鈥 and as recently as within the past month from police in Cumberland, Indiana.
Arnold Moncada, sheriff of Waukesha County at the time, recalls going to houses near where the spree鈥檚 final scenes played out, telling people to remain in their homes, and trying to get word to nearby schools. And he said the incident led to several changes in how county law enforcement worked together and with what equipment.
鈥淲e re-evaluated our whole system ... because once you saw what the Oswalds had as far as arsenal and weapons and caliber, it was like 鈥極h, my God.鈥 We ended up changing our weapons. We had 9 mm weapons. It wasn鈥檛 an even match when you are trying to respond and protect yourself,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e changed everything. You take the scene and once the investigation is over you re-evaluate everything and we looked at policies and procedures on how you deal with things like that, We changed weapons, ammunition, training and went through that.鈥
And that process continues for law enforcement everywhere because things change quickly. Moncada said it鈥檚 necessary because the officers have families, spouses and children.
鈥淵ou get up and go to work, you put your uniform and gun on every single day and you have no idea what you鈥檙e going to encounter. ... You give your family a kiss goodbye and hope you come back at the end of the day to see them. I don鈥檛 think people realize that.鈥
That fateful day victimized many others with the stress of seeing what happened, Moncada said. But authorities worked hard to let the public know this was an isolated incident, Waukesha County was and remains a very safe place generally speaking, thanks to the coordinated efforts of many in and out of uniform.
鈥淲aukesha County today is one of the safest places in the country, and it鈥檚 because of good law enforcement and support in the community,鈥 Moncada said.
Bucher said 鈥渘ot everything changed but a lot changed for the better鈥 in the aftermath.
鈥淚t certainly was the biggest case I鈥檝e ever handled, by far. The complexity, the amount of time I put into it, working 15-16 hours a day, falling asleep in the Sheriff鈥檚 Department war room, not getting home at all, living and breathing this case for two to three years,鈥 Bucher said. 鈥淎nd it was certainly the most memorable case I could ever do, prosecuting the murder of a police officer and the attempt of many others, and a kidnapping. I wear a badge of pride I could be in front of this and formed a team that moved us through it.鈥
