MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A bill that would put outside agencies in charge of investigating officer-involved deaths could create conflict and confusion for Wisconsin agencies that have traditionally done it themselves, police observers say.
The measure’s supporters say the new requirements will counter claims that police protect their own from consequences of using deadly force. The bill passed the Legislature earlier this year and Gov. Scott Walker has signaled he will sign it into law soon.
Most of Wisconsin’s smaller law enforcement agencies already use outside investigators. But larger departments such as Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee have investigated their own for years. Outsiders stepping into their affairs could be met with animosity.
“In general police departments don’t like outsiders getting involved in their business, whether it be reporters, researchers or the community in general,” said Steven Brandl, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee associate criminal justice professor.
Fifty-three people died while in the process of arrest in Wisconsin between 2003 and 2009, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Wisconsin police departments reported officers killed 41 people between June 2008 and April 2013, according to the state Department of Justice. All the killings were ruled justifiable homicide.
Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, and Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, developed the legislation in response to three high-profile deaths in the last 10 years. They pointed to the deaths of Michael Bell, whom Kenosha police shot in the head as he fought with officers in 2004; robbery suspect Derek Williams, who died gasping for breath and begging for help in a Milwaukee squad car in 2011; and Paul Heenan, shot to death by a Madison officer during a scuffle in 2012.
None of those incidents resulted in criminal charges, raising questions from the dead men’s families about the integrity of the investigations.
___
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) - The fine for a first drunken-driving offense, including court costs and surcharges, can be as high as $1,000 in places like Winnebago County. But industry experts are questioning whether such heavy fines serve as effective deterrents.
The actual fine for a charge of operating while intoxicated ranges from $150 to $300, but court costs can add $600 to $700, Northwestern Media reported (https://oshko.sh/1mpA4IIhttps://oshko.sh/1mpA4II ). The amounts, which are higher for subsequent offenses, can catch defendants off guard.
“I give someone a $300 fine, and my bailiff shows them the paperwork and it shows them it’s $1,200,” Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Scott Woldt said. “It’s a jaw-dropping experience for the defendant.”
While the total bill can be hefty, some observers think there are better ways to deter drunken driving. Nina Emerson, a former director of the Resource Center for Impaired Driving at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said a large fine is a “hollow threat.” Measures such as sobriety checkpoints do more to get a driver’s attention, she said.
“What really gets people’s attention is the increased fear of apprehension,” she said. “That’s how you change people’s behavior.”
Across the state, roughly 63 percent of the 16,619 drunken-driving convictions in 2012 were for first-time offenses, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Second offenses comprised 21 percent of convictions, and each subsequent offense fell by roughly half.
Those numbers suggest that the penalties, including the high fines, are working, Republican state Rep. Jim Ott said.
___
MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) - Controversies over the fracking process may be inevitable, a former administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged recently, but Wisconsin can protect its place as the leading supplier of sand for the nation’s fracking boom as long as the state has strong regulations, maintains maximum transparency and responds quickly to neighbors’ concerns.
J. Winston Porter, an energy consultant and fracking proponent, held the No. 2 spot at the EPA under presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush from 1985 to 1989. He spoke at a business convention in Middleton last week, where he said that even if fracking controversies are inevitable, they can be minimized.
“I don’t think sand, per se, is terribly dangerous,” Porter said. “But it’s still mining. If you go to my backyard acreage and you dig giant holes and just leave them there, it’s not good. So it’s going to need to be looked at.”
Sand mining has expanded in western Wisconsin along with the boom in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process involves extracting oil and natural gas by using a high-pressure slurry of sand, water and chemicals. Wisconsin’s sand grains are prized for their hardness and spherical shape.
The process has drawn opposition from environmentalists, who say it pollutes air and water with toxic chemicals.
Winston said the best way to keep the peace is for state regulators and fracking companies to maintain a policy of maximum openness, the Wisconsin State Journal reported (https://bit.ly/1i7cjzThttps://bit.ly/1i7cjzT ).
Sand-mining operations also need to respond quickly to nuisance issues, he said. That could include avoiding neighbor complaints by keeping noise, dust and traffic levels under control.
___
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - About 75 U.S. troops who landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport this weekend got a sweet surprise from local Girl Scouts.
A KSTP-TV report (https://bit.ly/1mp6yCThttps://bit.ly/1mp6yCT ) says the kids handed out boxes of Girl Scout cookies Saturday evening as they held signs thanking the military members for their service.
The 461st Engineering Company was returning from the Dominican Republic, where the troops were building schools. They were met by several dozen cheering members of the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys.
The giveaway is part of a national program called “Operation Cookie Care Package,” in which customers can donate boxes of cookies to troops. About 27,000 boxes have been donated across the nation so far this year.
___
Information from: KSTP-TV, https://www.kstp.comhttps://www.kstp.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.