Dane County committee forwards Natasha Iverson claim to county board with recommendation to deny

Dane County’s PP & J committee on a claim related to the April 10, 2024, home invasion at a Stoughton residence heard emotional testimony from the homeowner, family members, law enforcement and remediation experts before voting to forward the claim to the full County Board with a recommendation to deny.

The committee heard from Natasha Iverson, the homeowner who said smoke-control agent canisters (CS) were deployed by law enforcement in her home during a standoff and that her family’s house remains uninhabitable. "I don't know where to begin or where to go," Iverson said, describing what she said were months of unsuccessful remediation and out-of-pocket costs.

The hearing drew multiple witnesses who described both the traumatic criminal event and the technical difficulty of removing CS contamination from a lived-in home. Steve Lyons, a family friend and volunteer, said the family “still live in trailers on the premises because they cannot inhabit their home.” Gwen Rupert, a detective with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office who responded to the incident, confirmed both OC and CS agents were used and said she could still smell residue in parts of the house during a September inspection. Scott Faustell, a Marine Corps veteran who has trained with riot-control agents,…