On the night of September 23, 1998, Manitowoc police officer Dale Robin Tenhaken, 27, was killed during a routine traffic stop near Reed Avenue and Johnston Drive. Officer Tenhaken, a five-year department veteran, stopped a vehicle around 11:30 p.m. for having no headlights and no license plates. The car held driver Jason Halda, passenger Michael Watts, and two female juveniles. While Officer Tenhaken was on the radio requesting backup, Halda produced a handgun and fired multiple shots. Tenhaken radioed for help and was later found face down between two cars with a fatal gunshot wound to his back; he was pronounced dead.

Halda and Watts fled but were captured just before 3:45 a.m. on September 24 in Sheboygan County; both had outstanding warrants at the time of the stop. The two teenage girls who had been in the backseat testified that they saw Halda shoot the officer. If anyone knew Officer Tenhaken or has information about that night, please share what might help the record.