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| NEWS > 09 November 2006 |
Other related articles:
A firing offense
The Michigan Department of State Police needs to explain exactly how many illegal acts a trooper would have to commit before he or she is deemed unfit to arrest anybody else. In what appears to be a lampoon of the department's code of honor, a trooper who lied about a traffic crash, fled the accident scene and then falsely reported his vehicle stolen, is still on duty. The governor and the Legislature also should inquire into this.
Law enforcement officers are expected to obey the law, not break it. Those who fail to serve with integrity and responsibility should suffer the consequ... Read more
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LaCrosse Tribune - LaCrosse,WI
09 November 2006
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Onalaska mayor backs police ch
Onalaska Mayor Jim Bialecki publically voiced his support Wednesday for Police Chief Randy Williams, a day after a special prosecutor declined to seek charges against the chief in a witness-tampering complaint filed by his officers.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, Bialecki praised the outcome and said Williams will remain with the city despite the continuing disputes in the department.
“I am very pleased Chief Williams has been completely exonerated of any and all allegations of wrongdoing,” Bialecki said.
Juneau County District Attorney Scott Harold Southworth — called in as special prosecutor to avoid conflict of interest — said Tuesday he would not bring criminal witness-tampering or intimidation of witness charges against Williams.
Four police officers had filed a complaint against Williams for requiring they answer a questionnaire before testifying at a termination hearing for Officer Rick Proctor in May.
Before the hearing, City Attorney Dawn Marie Harris, who actually wrote the questions, agreed to throw out ones deemed inappropriate by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association.
Southworth said he could see why the officers felt intimidated, but said that didn’t mean Williams did anything illegal.
“Legal minds on both sides of the termination proceedings debated the issue of the questions and came to an agreement,” Southworth said in a letter to La Crosse County District Attorney Scott Horne.
Williams said Wednesday he did not intend to intimidate the officers, but was just trying to find if they had any direct knowledge about the incident.
Harris said she decided to pose the questions in writing so officers could provide written answers after meeting with an attorney.
During Wednesday’s press conference, held in Harris’ law office in the U.S. Bank building in La Crosse, wives of several Onalaska police officers picketed outside. The wives, who also protested Tuesday outside Onalaska City Hall, complained about the stress and poor working conditions their husbands have to endure under Williams, said Angela Page.
Page said the women wanted to meet with Williams and Bialecki, but the men avoided contact with them as they left the building.
Officer Chris Danou, union president and one of the four to file the complaint, said he still thinks a crime was committed and questioned why the case wasn’t turned over to a state agency.
“We specifically asked to have the Department of Justice investigate this,” Danou said. “We felt the Office of Public Integrity is much better equipped to deal with this and has more resources than the Juneau County DA’s office.”
Horne countered it is standard practice to ask that fellow district attorneys take such cases.
“Frankly, I think it’s a little insulting when you don’t get the decision you want to start attacking who made the decision,” Horne said.
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