What a surprise – truly – to see the Register report in its 11/8/07 issue that the Walworth County District attorney’s office will not prosecute a felony count against a Whitewater man who was involved in a standoff with the police recently. Outside the man’s residence during the standoff, armed city and county officers reportedly…
Police
Inbox Reader Mail, Police
Inbox: Reader Mail – Signs of a Broken Police Culture
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received an email this week from a reader whose property was stolen during a recent rash of car burglaries. The writer expressed disappointment that the Whitewater Police seemed to have cast blame on him, and others, for not locking their car doors. Here’s part of what the property owner wrote in his email to…
City, Elkhorn, Police
Questions on the Settlement in the Larry Meyer Case
by JOHN ADAMS •
Larry Meyer, now retired, was a controversial member of the Whitewater Police Department, and is the defendant in a federal civil suit. Meyer’s counsel filed a motion for summary judgment in March, but the Fourth Amendment federal constitutional claims of the Plaintiff, Steve Cvicker, survived that motion. Previously, I have published posts about the damage…
City, Police
Our Enforcement Culture
by JOHN ADAMS •
Budgetary proposals are important, but there is a more important reform that Whitewater can undertake. Changes to the way that Whitewater imposes code-enforcement and criminal fines would do much to help our city step away from a reliance on futile punitive measures that operate as a regressive form of taxation, and as an incentive to…
Police, Press
Catching up with the Register, October 25th Issue
by JOHN ADAMS •
From the October 25th issue, on a story about an arrest in an overnight standoff — How many police officers and sheriff’s deputies does it take to persuade an apparently suicidal man to leave his home? In Whitewater, it takes approximately 30. What is a “suicide type statement,” by the way? It’s how an inarticulate…
Inbox Reader Mail, Police
Inbox: Reader Mail (ID Theft)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received two emails from a reader who asked to remain anonymous. One is about supposed identity theft, the second about sundry other matters in Whitewater. Her remarks in black, my reply in blue. As you’ll see, we do not share the same views. Anonymous Reader: Mr. Adams, you stated: “Real identity theft not…
Police
High Fives?
by JOHN ADAMS •
I have been a critic of police conduct in our city. I am convinced that leadership here is poor, and excuse-making. This is a mediocre, ill-trained force in a city that deserves far better. Any yet, even I find myself surprised by what I sometimes read. Consider a comment posted on the UW-Whitewater Royal Purple‘s…
City, Police
Larry Meyer’s Disgraceful Legacy
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Janesville Gazette, and The Week, Mike Heine reports that federal civil defendant Larry Meyer has offered settlement to Plaintiff, Steven Cvicker. The settlement involves Cvicker’s claim that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated at the time the Whitewater Police executed a search warrant of his business. Cvicker’s Fourth Amendment claim survived a…
City, Police, Press
Burying the Story: Update on Larry Meyer
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater Police investigator Larry Meyer, now retired, has been at the center of two controversial investigations: Star Packaging and that of a local landscaping company. The latter investigation has led to a federal civil suit against Meyer. On August 2nd, The Week, under Donna Lenz Wright’s byline, ran a story on the lawsuit, entitled, “Expert…
City, Police, Press
Star Packaging — One Year On
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Police
Parsing Jim Coan’s interview with The Week on the Star Packaging Raid
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at The Week, Mike Heine has an interview with Jim Coan, Whitewater Police Chief, about the Star Packaging Raid, and the plea of Star Packaging’s owner, Alan Petrie. I’ll leave Coan’s comments, and Heine’s text, in black, and my replies in blue, for easy distinction. Pending a sentencing hearing, a dark chapter in Whitewater’s…
City, Police
Reader Mail: Inbox — Spear-o-Rama, Part 1
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve received two messages recently about former municipal judge, and perpetual vulgarian, Steven Spear. The first is from a member of the Common Council. I’ll post the message in full, with my reply thereafter. (The Council member refers to my post entitled, “Spear, Coan, and Brunner.”) From a member of the Common Council: Dear “Mr.…
City, Police, Press
Coming Attractions for the Week of July 30th
by JOHN ADAMS •
We have a busy week ahead of us, with following topics on deck: Reader Mail: A letter from a member of the Common Council. Reader Mail: People who want Steve Spear’s return as municipal judge. Reader Mail: A letter from the owner of the Double Dip Deli on ‘Public Art.’ (Yes, printed in its entirety.)…
City, Police
Inflexibility as a Way of Life
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers know that I’ve written frequently about the Star Packaging raid. The owner of Star Packaging, Alan Petrie (to whom I have no connection) faces multiple counts of supposed conspiracy to commit ‘identity theft’ for hiring Mexican workers. As I have written before, in my post entitled The Identity Theft Excuse, Petrie and the Mexican…