Who is policing the police? > Back To Resources Main

By DAN SPRINGER, La Crosse Tribune

They promise to enforce the law, serve and protect. Yet every once in a while, a law enforcement officer uses excessive force, abuses his or her authority or commits a crime. Advertisement

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Victims, especially in rural areas, often have no idea where to turn other than the department where the offending officer works. It can be intimidating, raising fears of retaliation.

Many larger departments, however, have well-defined reporting procedures that are intended to ensure complete investigation of alleged wrongdoing by officers.

In response to three recent cases of alleged police wrongdoing, chiefly a Whitehall police officer's alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in his squad car, the Tribune examined the question of who polices the police.

To a large degree, police do it themselves. Before putting on a badge, each officer takes an oath to uphold the law. Men and women who choose law enforcement as a career typically do so because of a desire to serve the public. By definition, they are less likely to break the law than other people.

But occasionally they do. And when that happens, departments generally handle investigations in-house — a practice that needs to change, says a police accountability expert at Marquette University.

Carol Archbold, an assistant professor at Marquette, said the fact that 90 percent of all citizen complaints are determined in the officer's favor is an indication that more public oversight is needed.

"The national research shows that citizens are typically not happy with the way these complaints are handled because the police department does the investigating themselves," Archbold said.

Along with more public control over how complaints are investigated, Archbold said more needs to be done to educate the public on how they can report complaints and how to make sure reports to smaller, rural agencies are properly dealt with.

Archbold, who holds a doctorate in criminal justice, has researched police accountability, how to best mediate citizen complaints, and the development of early warning systems to uncover police misconduct.

While metro police departments have made strides during the past 20 years to be more accountable to their constituents, some rural sheriff's and police departments have not followed suit, Archbold said.

"When it comes to research of rural areas, very little has been done, and there is virtually nothing on accountability. The information we do have is basically anecdotal," Archbold said.

The information basically indicates police in smaller towns tend to deal with things more informally, she said, adding that quite often they do not have a policy in place.

"What often happens is someone will go to their local police department or sheriff's office to file a complaint, and they'll only get to talk to the person at the desk," she said. "They'll tell that person what happened, and that person may not even tell the chief so it never gets any further than that."

Whitehall Police Chief Larry Estenson agrees that life in small communities like his might appear to be informal and laid-back, but the close-knit nature of small towns often forces local officers to be more accountable to their constituents than those in larger cities.

In communities where everyone knows their local officer by first name, there is constant pressure on the officer to do the right thing on and off duty, Estenson said.

Dennis Abbott, head of the West Salem Police Department, agrees.

"In a smaller community, everyone knows everyone, and it's much more difficult for an individual to get away with anything when the whole community is watching," Abbott said. "In a bigger community, an officer can get lost in the shuffle of the bigger department and bigger city."

The sense of security in rural areas is part of the reason crimes come as such a surprise, especially when a police officer is involved. Cases involving police as suspects can be as disappointing and unnerving as shocking.

Last week, Whitehall police officer Daniel J. Wineski, 45, pleaded innocent to charges that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in his squad car in 1996. Wineski also faces charges of false imprisonment, intimidation of a victim and three counts of misconduct in office.

Other recent accusations involving police include:

Galesville police officer James Brudos, 34, was placed on indefinite leave after he was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and violating a restraining order in Jackson County last year.

Brudos is back on the job. He entered a deferred prosecution agreement after pleading guilty to one count of disorderly conduct April 16.

Jeffrey T. Kane, 33, a St. Paul, Minn., officer, faces federal charges that he transported a stolen skid steer across state lines and concealed it for two years on a farm near Blair, Wis.

Kane was placed on two years probation, ordered to pay nearly $21,000 in restitution and serve 200 hours of community service after he pleaded no contest April 9 in Trempealeau County Circuit Court to one count of concealing stole property.

Such misconduct erodes public confidence in police departments, so most have developed policies and procedures to discipline officers for rule violations and misconduct.

Although some metropolitan police departments now have public boards or a combination of public and police officials to investigate citizen complaints, most departments continue to police themselves.

While he admits reports of police misconduct in smaller communities might not always be properly investigated, Assistant Attorney General Steve Tinker said the state serves as a safety net to make sure the most serious offenses do not go unnoticed.

"When people file a complaint with our office, I usually suggest they first go within their local agency. If it's a problem with a deputy, they should report to the sheriff. If it's a problem with a police officer, go directly to the chief," Tinker said.

"It's much quicker for everyone if they can get it resolved there. I also tell them that, if after a period of time they don't feel their complaint has been dealt with, they should contact our office."

Tinker said the state investigates the most aggregious complaints of police misconduct. The Division of Criminal Investigation, for example, has stepped in to investigate the Wineski case. Others are sent back to local departments to investigate.

"We generally only get involved in the criminal cases, and just because the complaint alleges crimes does not mean we will get involved," Tinker said. "To be quite honest, we get so many complaints that we have to triage them to look for the ones with merit. Then the DCI may open an investigation and take it from there."

Oftentimes complaints come from criminal suspects who are angry because they got caught.

Archbold said some departments have found ways to make filing criminal complaints easier, but others could do better.

For the past dozen years, Whitehall has had a written policy on how citizen complaints are handled, Estenson said.

The policy requires citizens to file a signed written complaint before it is investigated.

Less serious offenses are investigated by Estenson, but an outside agency is called in to look into more serious allegations, Estenson said.

While the policy is on the books, Estenson said, he has never had to follow it.

"We haven't had a single complaint filed," Estenson said. "If someone has a complaint, we want them to file it. We're always open. If they have a complaint, we're ready to listen."

Abbott said he is responsible for investigating citizen complaints. If he is named in the complaint, the investigation then is done by the West Salem city administrator.

Tom Jacobs, La Crosse assistant police chief, said his department takes all complaints of officer misconduct seriously and gives every citizen complaint a thorough investigation.

He said the 12 or so complaints that come into the department each year are dealt with through a fair process and internal investigation before the complainant is told how the case was resolved.

Likewise, the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department, which gets only a few complaints each year, also does an internal investigation of complaints.

In Onalaska, either the chief or chief administrator oversees the investigation of citizen complaints and decides on discipline, if appropriate. A report on each complaint then is forwarded to the Police and Fire Commission, Chief Randy Williams said.

Those who are displeased with the outcome of their complaint can appeal to their local police and fire commission or the county board's Justice and Law Enforcement Committee.

Although many agencies have added some form of public oversight of their police agencies and complaint investigations, some criminal justice experts say more needs to be done to make sure complaints are being handled in a fair way.

Wisconsin's courts also have ruled in favor of the public's right to know how complaints of police misconduct are dealt with.

In 1995, the Wisconsin State Journal and Madison weekly newspaper Isthmus asked the court to force the Madison Police Department to provide the media with copies of all citizen complaints.

In her ruling, Dane County Judge Sarah O'Brien said public oversight is needed to ensure a fair police force.

"In order to minimize abuses of police power, society needs to have a great deal of scrutiny and oversight into any allegations of police misconduct. The alternative is to risk that police agencies go, in effect, unpoliced and become the masters rather than the servants of society," Obrien wrote.

Jacobs said La Crosse police do not have a set way for complaints to be filed. Instead, it is up to the complainant to decide how to report the alleged wrongdoing.

"They can get complaints to us in any way they want, but it is always best to have something in writing. It can be handwritten, typed, on a computer or in an e-mail. Writing is best as long as it has as many details as possible," Jacobs said. "But we also take reports over the phone or in person, too."

Jacobs said complaints can be made anonymously and the complainant's name can be kept confidential if desired.

The most important thing, he said, is that the complaint is made and investigated.

Sheriff Michael Weissenberger said the county has made complaint forms available for those who might need them. They can be picked up at the sheriff's office in La Crosse County Courthouse, the county administrator's office, county board chairman's office or on the county's Web site at www.co.la-crosse.wi.us.

Williams said complaints can be filed at the Onalaska Police Department or by contacting the Onalaska Police and Fire Commission.

While criminal justice experts and law enforcement officials might disagree over how much public oversight is essential to make sure misconduct is being dealt with, the two sides agree that investigating misconduct is vital to ensure public trust in law enforcement.

"A police agency has one reputation in the community, and it's so vital we make sure the public is aware we do police ourselves and we do take these complaints seriously," Williams said. "We don't want to harm that reputation in the community."

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