Brooklyn leaders on Tuesday said their abrupt decision to abolish the village’s small police department last week stems from liability concerns related to an unspecified lawsuit and “unresolved Brooklyn PD personnel issues and complaints.”
It’s not clear what lawsuit or complaints the board is referring to in the statement released to the Wisconsin State Journal. Board members and police chief Wade Engelhart did not respond to requests for comment. A search of online state and federal court records did not turn up any recent litigation against the village or its police department.
In an online meeting Feb. 1, the board voted 5-2 to abolish the department and contract with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office for police coverage, going against the wishes of the vast majority of residents who spoke during the meeting. Engelhart complained he’d only learned of the plan three days before.
Statements from the board and village president Brit Springer attributed the decision to difficulty recruiting officers generally and increased litigation against police officers and departments around the country, especially in small communities. Nothing in Springer’s statement hinted at any specific complaint leveled against the village.
On Tuesday, the board said it had received a number of questions about its decision.
“Because the Village faced and resolved a recent lawsuit over alleged Brooklyn Police Department wrongdoing as well as unresolved Brooklyn PD personnel issues and complaints, the Village’s future potential liability needs to be minimized to safeguard the taxpayers against significant future costs,” its statement says. “By contracting with DCSO, the Village of Brooklyn’s potential liability stemming from policing becomes ZERO.”
The board said that so far this year, workers’ compensation costs for police have increased by $700 and the village’s general liability insurance costs increased by $900.
Randy Burns, the village’s one full-time police officer, said he had “no clue” what lawsuit or complaints the Village Board was referring to.
“As far as I know there, there has been no lawsuit and there has been no wrongdoing,” he said.
The board called a contract with the Sheriff’s Office a “value-added product” that will include services such as an attorney specializing in police matters, a “police policy and procedure analyst,” “professional standards officer” and “specialty organization to investigate complaints against/incidents by Brooklyn Police.”
Sheriff’s Office coverage was expected to begin in early March, Springer said last week, but it wasn’t clear at that time what it would consist of. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Elise Schaffer said then that a contract was about a month away from being completed but that the village was expected to spend about $141,000 annually for one deputy to work full-time in the community of about 1,400 south of Madison.
The village was slated to spend about $243,000 this year on its own department made up of a full-time chief, one full-time officer and a part-time officer and part-time secretary, both of whom work less than half time. Burns, who said he’s worked part- or full-time for the department for about eight years, said Engelhart retired at the end of last week and that members of the department were offered severance packages.
As of Tuesday, the Brooklyn Police Department’s page on the village’s website had been removed.
Brooklyn, located on the border of Dane and Green counties with a small section in Rock County, would become the seventh small municipality to contract with the Sheriff’s Office for police coverage, joining Black Earth, Cambridge, Deerfield, Dane, Mazomanie and Windsor. The Sheriff’s Office also has a full-time contract with the town of Middleton, and several other towns pay for some added police presence, Schaffer said.
Brooklyn’s police department in 2017 conducted a survey of residents that found 83% preferred keeping the local department over getting police services through Dane County, with about 59% rating the quality of the department’s services as “excellent” or “good.”
Dane County Sheriff's detectives arrest Middleton woman for Oklahoma homicide
A town of Middleton woman was arrested Thursday afternoon on a homicide warrant out of Wagoner County, Oklahoma, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kore D. Adams, 59, after the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office asked for help identifying and locating her, Dane County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Elise Schaffer said.
The felony warrant out of Wagoner County is for first-degree murder, deliberate intent and desecration of a corpse.
Madison area woman won't fight extradition for Oklahoma homicide after body found in freezer in Arkansas
An area woman arrested Thursday by Dane County sheriff’s detectives for an Oklahoma homicide said Friday she would not fight extradition.
Kore Bommeli Adams appeared by video Friday from the Dane County Jail and waived her right to fight extradition to Wagoner County, Oklahoma. She said she did so on the advice of her lawyer in Oklahoma.
“My attorney’s there, and we need to get started working on this immediately,” Bommeli Adams said.
'Brake checking' results in driver shooting firearm in road rage incident, Madison police say
A driver shot at another motorist Sunday evening following a road rage incident on the Southeast Side involving "brake checking," Madison police said.
Police were called to the 700 block of Pflaum Road for a report of a driver being shot at shortly before 7 p.m., Madison police Lt. Shannon Blackamore said in a statement. The victim, a 25-year-old Madison resident, brake checked another vehicle, Blackamore said, and the response from the other driver was to fire a handgun at them.
18-year-old, 3 juveniles arrested after crashing stolen car on the East Side
An 18-year-old and three juveniles were arrested after crashing a stolen car into a tree on the East Side Saturday morning and running from the scene, Madison police reported.
Marcus L. Brinkley, 18, was booked into the Dane County Jail on tentative charges of operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent as party to a crime, Madison police spokesperson Tyler Grigg said. Of the juveniles arrested, one was tentatively charged with operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent, two counts of hit and run of occupied vehicles and an outstanding arrest warrant.
Man arrested after he points BB gun, pulls knife and pepper sprays victim on East Side
A man was arrested after pointing a BB gun, pulling a knife and pepper spraying a person on the East Side Monday afternoon, Madison police said.
Phillip Fung Li, 25, pointed the gun at the 28-year-old victim on the 100 block of S. Bassett Street at around 12:35 p.m. Monday, Madison police spokesperson Tyler Grigg said. The victim grabbed the gun and struggled with Li, and Li then pulled out a knife. The victim sustained a minor cut.
Man arrested after lunging for officer’s gun on East Side, Madison police say
Aman was arrested Wednesday night after lunging for an officer’s gun on the East Side, Madison police reported.
At about 9 p.m., an officer gave a man a ride to a men's shelter at 200 N. First St. and was showing him the way to the front door when another man who was walking nearby suddenly lunged at the officer's gun, pulling it upward with both hands trying to remove it from the holster, police spokesman Tyler Grigg said in statement.
Pedestrian dies after getting out of vehicle into path of semi in Green Lake County, authorities say
A pedestrian died after getting out of their vehicle and into the path of a semi in Green Lake County on Wednesday afternoon, authorities reported.
At 1:47 p.m., a 911 caller reported a crash on Highway K near Craig Road in the town of Brooklyn involving a pedestrian and a semi, and the first emergency responders reached the scene at 1:49 p.m., Green Lake County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Matthew L. Vande Kolk.
Bullet-riddled vehicle found after report of shots fired on Far East Side, Madison police say
A bullet-riddled vehicle was found after a report of shots fired on the Far East Side on Wednesday afternoon, Madison police reported.
The shots were reported on Woodridge Court shortly after 2 p.m., police spokesman Tyler Grigg said in a report.
Woman calls 911 when armed man kicks at front door of North Side residence, Madison police say
A woman called 911 when a man who appeared to be holding a gun kicked at the front door of her North Side residence on Thursday night, Madison police reported.
The 32-year-old woman told police she was at her home in the 1600 block of Wright Street about 11 p.m. when she heard a commotion outside, looked out the window and saw a man she didn’t recognize pacing on the sidewalk and talking on a phone, yelling "Imma shoot this expletive," police spokesman Tyler Grigg said in a report.
Sheriff's Office: Shooting near Interstate scatters large group, no injuries reported
An overnight shooting involving at least two shooters at a hotel near the Interstate and Beltline interchange sent a large group scattering early Saturday morning, while no injuries have been reported, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said.
Shortly before 1:30 a.m., deputies received a report of "unknown individuals exchanging gun fire" in the parking lot of Magnuson Grand Hotel, 3510 Millpond Road, where a large group of people had been reportedly gathering, Sheriff's Office Lt. Jessamy Torres said in a statement.
Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal
Urban affairs, investigations, consumer help ("SOS")
