At last night’s Police Commission meeting, the Commission unanimously chose a non-resident as interim chief. For an earlier post on the topic, see Simple and Reasonable Compliance with the Law. Simple’s not always so simple, but then years of the wrong direction work a powerful distortion and departure from simple and reasonable.
Police
City, Police
Whitewater’s Search for a New Police Chief (Update)
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Law, Police
Simple and Reasonable Compliance with the Law
by JOHN ADAMS •
To enforce the law, one must observe the law. Conversely, one cannot credibly enforce the law by ignoring portions one does not like. This principle is so simple and clear that stating as much states the obvious. Whitewater has a lawful requirement that senior city leaders live within the city limits, among them nearly a…
City, Police
Whitewater’s Search for a New Police Chief
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story over at the Gazette that mentions the departure of Whitewater’s Chief Coan, an amount of money that he may owe Whitewater under contract, and the selection of a new police chief. (That process begins, but only begins, tonight.) I’d be surprised if he doesn’t request to keep the ten thousand; there will…
Police
Radley Balko Talks Police Dogs on Freedom Watch
by JOHN ADAMS •
Police
The Mind of a Police Dog
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason Magazine, Radley Balko has a fine article entitled, The Mind of a Police Dog. The subtitle’s a verity: how misconceptions about dogs can lead to abuse of humans. I’ve written before about use of police dogs. They require careful and consistent handling. Small departments, like one in Edgerton that briefly had a…
City, Freedom of Speech, Police, Walworth County
Anti-Union Buffoonery in Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
I saw an odd ‘news item’ today, about a protest in Whitewater, that supposedly involved monitoring by the police. It was said to be a ‘heavy’ police presence, by the account that I saw. If the account’s true, then that presence is both foolish and wrong. If the account’s false, and there wasn’t really a…
Police
Sheboygan police accepting applications for citizens academy
by JOHN ADAMS •
How a department properly offers a citizen police academy: Applications and more information can be found online at www.sheboyganpolice.com/citizenpolice.html. Applications will be accepted through March 9 and are also available at the department, 1315 N. 23rd St. Via Sheboygan police accepting applications for citizens academy | sheboyganpress.com | Sheboygan Press.
City, Crime, Police
Authorities investigating Whitewater bank robbery, bomb threat
by JOHN ADAMS •
Officers responded to a robbery at about 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Westside branch of Whitewater Commercial Bank, which is located at Sentry Foods at 1260 W. Main St., Whitewater, a news release from the Whitewater Police Department said. The suspect reportedly was carrying a brown paper grocery bag and a computer bag containing two…
Police, Press Release
24th Annual Wisconsin Troopers’ Association Art & Essay Contest
by JOHN ADAMS •
Police, Politics
Arizona Republic: Pima County Sheriff Should Remember Duty
by JOHN ADAMS •
Indeed. On Saturday afternoon, with his friend Gabby Giffords in surgery fighting for her life, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik railed against the tense partisan politics – “the anger, the hatred, the bigotry” – that prompted the mass murders outside Tucson, in his view. And, jarring as such claims may be, we understood. Or tried…
City, Crime, Police
Repetitive Failures from the Wrong Approach
by JOHN ADAMS •
Following a house party at which over one-hundred people were cited for underage drinking, Whitewater’s long-tenured police chief, James Coan, announced that two people hosting the party would be cited for violations amounting to six-thousand dollars apiece. (What they’ll actually pay may be a different matter.) See, Residents fined $12,000 from party bust. (I’ve written…
City, Police, University
The Weak Reasoning of Prohibitionism
by JOHN ADAMS •
A few weeks ago, Whitewater police cited one-hundred thirty-two underage drinkers at a house party in Whitewater. Thereafter, Whitewater’s police chief acknowledged that information about the party came from ‘undercover students,’ an acknowledgment that’s just foolish and tone-deaf. (Yes, Coan’s actually quoted calling them ‘undercover students,’ by the way.) I wrote about Coan’s remarks, in…
City, Police
The Utter Foolishness of Jim Coan’s Prohibition
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story at the Gazette that’s both fine in its information, and revealing in how predictable Whitewater’s police chief, Jim Coan, is. He’s as unthinking and foolish as ever. Recently, Whitewater’s police broke up a drinking party at a house in Whitewater, and cited over one-hundred partygoers for underage drinking. As I’ve mentioned, I’m…