The 25th Annual Wisconsin Troopers’ Art & Essay Contest is accepting entries through February 15th. I have included the contest rules and an entry form, immediately below. The forms are available for downloading and printing. Best of luck to all contestants.
Police
Crime, Government Spending, Police
Officers Punished for Supporting Eased Drug Laws
by JOHN ADAMS •
These officers can expect to be hounded out, as so much federal and state money depends, not on solving the problem of addiction, but on waging an ineffective, endless campaign, all the while insisting that this time – yes, this time – everything will be different and better. Those challenging their dismissals are buoyed by…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Police, Politics
The Misuse of Law Enforcement Against Peaceful Protesters
by JOHN ADAMS •
I may have my doubts about the Occupy movement’s platform (such as it is), but I’ve none about the aggressive use of law enforcement against peaceful protesters: that use is wrong, being both offensive and contrary to America’s political tradition. The Huffington Post offers up a video of excessive use of force against seated protesters…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Police, Politics
84-Year-Old Woman Becomes the Pepper-Sprayed Face of Occupy Seattle
by JOHN ADAMS •
Photo: Joshua Trujillo / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Worse than outrageous: Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo captured what may become the defining image of this week of Occupy unrest — an elderly woman being led away from the mayhem, her face covered with pepper spray. A pregnant woman and a preist were also hit with pepper spray during a…
Police
The Shrewd Mr. Flynn
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote yesterday about the press battle between the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Milwaukee’s Police Chief Flynn. Conflicts like this often lead to wagon-circling, a self-defeating response. See, The Predictable, Dead-End Response. And yet, Flynn is sure to have a second term, something unusual for Milwaukee, but common in most departments. Commonly, police commissions go…
Open Government, Police
The Predictable, Dead-End Response
by JOHN ADAMS •
Writing about the feud between Milwaukee’s Chief Flynn and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bruce Murphy writes that Experts on police departments will tell you that criticism from outside inevitably results in everyone on the force circling the wagons. That’s very true. So true and predictable, that it’s more predictable and regular than Old Faithful has…
City, Crime, Police
Meet the New Press Release, Same as the Old Press Release
by JOHN ADAMS •
Just about a year ago, Whitewater’s former police chief authorized a raid on a drinking party; this year, almost to the day, the city’s new police chief did the same. Scores were cited a year ago; scores were cited this year. Needless to say, last year’s raid did nothing to stop the underage drinking in…
Animals, Government Spending, Police
Update 4: On Edgerton, Wisconsin’s Former Police Dog
by JOHN ADAMS •
There was a follow-up story in the Janesville Gazette about Edgerton’s former police dog, an animal that bit two people (one a police officer from another department, the other an office worker) before it was finally sent away. The cost of settling injuries to the police officer (apparently the lesser of the two injuries) was…
Police
Whitewater’s Next, Permanent Police Chief
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about Whitewater’s search for a police chief, now concluded in the selection of Lisa Otterbacher as the city’s next, permanent police chief. (The remaining few steps are procedural, and simply met.) For an earlier post on the search, see During Whitewater’s Police Chief Search. It was right to conduct a more public…
City, Police
During Whitewater’s Police Chief Search
by JOHN ADAMS •
We’re in the midst of a police chief search (candidate and August 26th forum information available online), but like the mid-point of many searches, there’s only a bit to say. Open Over Closed. An open process is better, in-and-of-itself, than a closed one. Open is the right course. Outcomes matter. No matter how fine the…
Law, Liberty, Official Misconduct, Police
Six Years in Prison for Legally Recording a Police Officer?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Photography and video recordings both protect honest police departments against false accusations and assure communities receive information about instances of official misconduct. When citizens exercise their rights to photography and video recording, they are also bolstering the work of good officers by helping identify a few corrupt ones. Yet not everyone sees it this way,…
City, Police, School District
Whitewater’s Different Search Strategies
by JOHN ADAMS •
While Whitewater’s police department has embarked on a traditional search strategy with a consulting firm, Whitewater’s school district is willing first to consider internal candidates in a backyard-search strategy. Will the different methods produce results different in candidate quality? Thats hard to knoww, although a national search should yield a stronger field.
City, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Police, Politics, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 173
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, Rep. Don Pridemore’s Arizona-syle immigration legislation received a numerical designation: Assembly Bill 173. The full text of the bill is online at the Legislature’s website. The bill has the following initial sponsors: “Representatives Pridemore, Wynn, LeMahieu, Kleefisch, Steineke and Jacque; Cosponsored by Senator Lasee.” One could have expected Wynn to support this measure. His…
City, Crime, Police
Common Council: Crime Prevention
by JOHN ADAMS •
Property crimes, although not as reprehensible as crimes of violence, are yet significant wrongs. Theft injures its victims, and undermines civil society. One has no reason to be sympathetic to thieves. Individuals and society benefit from strong private property rights. Whitewater, perhaps more than other towns nearby, has a problem with property crimes, including car…