This is the third post in my series on the Whitewater Police and Fire Commission. The first post was an introduction to the series, and the second post cited the authority of our PFC under Wisconsin law. In this post, I will suggest reasonable standards for Whitewater’s PFC. Every reasonable person can agree on a…
Police
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Importance and Authority.
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the second post in my series on the Whitewater Police and Fire Commission. The first part was an introduction to the series. In this post, I will outline the powers of our Police and Fire Commission (PFC) under Wisconsin law. The PFC is a legally-authorized and required commission under our law. It both…
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Introduction
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers know that I am a critic of the Whitewater Police Department, and its chief, Jim Coan. In this series, I will consider our Police Commission, and its role — by law and practice — in overseeing the Whitewater Police Department. My views on the city are those of a libertarian, and libertarian thinking informs…
City, Elkhorn, Police
Cat Has Your Tongue?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last week, I criticized a policy of confidentiality in municipal litigation. I offered seven reasons that a city should not seek or receive confidentiality as a condition of settlement. Confidentiality in municipal litigation is a bad idea, principally, because it deprives citizens of information about the conduct of public officials, on the public payroll, in…
City, Police, Press
Against Confidentiality in Municipal Litigation
by JOHN ADAMS •
Longtime readers know that I have covered the federal lawsuit against Larry Meyer, a now-retired detective of the Whitewater Police Department. Plaintiff, Steve Cvicker sued Meyer federal court alleging violations of his civil and constitutional rights. In March, Cvicker’s Fourth Amendment claims survived a motion for summary judgment. In October, newspaper accounts reported that the…
Inbox Reader Mail, Police
Inbox: Reader Mail
by JOHN ADAMS •
A reader sent an email to me this week with a simple question: Is it fair that a man, accused of wrongdoing, settles a lawsuit through an insurance carrier so he doesn’t have to pay from his own pocket? Here’s my answer: No, it’s not fair. It is conventional, though: most people have insurance coverage…
Elkhorn, Police, Press
Signs of a Broken Police Culture, Part 2
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
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…