Anger at Bristol Palin’s dancing leads to 15-hour SWAT standoff By Eric W. Dolan Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 -- 1:34 pm
A 66-year-old man from rural Dane County in Wisconsin faces charges of second-degree reckless endangerment after he shot his television because he was angered by Bristol Palin's dancing.
On Monday night, Steven N. Cowan and his wife were watching "Dancing With The Stars" when Cowan flew into a rage and told his wife to grab his pistols.
"The (expletive) politics," he yelled, according to the complaint.
Cowan was upset with Bristol Palin's performance on the on the ABC program.
He felt Palin was not a good dancer and that she was only on the show because of her famous mother, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Cowan's daughter had previously hidden her father's pistols for safety reasons, but he managed to find a single-shot shotgun, which he then loaded and used to destroy his television set, according to the complaint.
Fearing for her life, Cowan's wife fled the house and called police from a nearby lawyer's office.
"He scared the bejebees out of me," she told police.
A SWAT team surrounded his home for 15 hours Monday and Tuesday before negotiators were able to talk Cowan into surrendering without incident.
A spokeswoman for Dane County Sheriff's Department told the Associated Press that Cowan works as a landlord, but didn't know where he owned property.
She said he has a clean criminal record.
If convicted, Cowan could face up to 10 years in prison.
Cowan was under stress because of money problems and was receiving care for a mental health problem, according to his wife.