Frank Vaisvilas
RHINELANDER - An Oneida County man with a well-known family name in the Northwoods claims he was targeted by a sheriff's deputy because he is Indigenous, following an incident in a Walmart parking lot that left him with a head injury.
He also contends the incident reflects broader hostility toward tribal members in the area.
A Sheriff's Department captain said the treatment of Thomas Maulson was well within bounds, and that being a member of the Lac du Flambeau tribe was irrelevant. He said he was disappointed that Maulson raised the issue of targeting and being Indigenous, and said he feared it would foster unnecessary divisiveness.
Maulson, 43, of Woodruff, said he was the subject of a road rage incident March 30 in which a driver followed him into a Rhinelander parking lot and challenged him to a fight. The two briefly tussled, but soon made up and the other driver drove away.
However, an Oneida County sheriff's deputy pulled up, approached the vehicle and asked Maulson for his driver’s license and registration. Maulson asked, “For what?” according to the police report. Oneida County Sheriff’s Deputy Will Taege then asked Maulson why he was breathing heavily, according to the report, and Maulson replied, “Does it matter?”
At that point, Taege said in his report, he realized Maulson was a “no” person and was not complying, so the deputy pulled Maulson out of his car to arrest him. Maulson repeatedly asked, "What did I do?" Taege’s dashcam video shows Taege handling Maulson, who is handcuffed, and Maulson falling to the pavement, hitting his head.
Maulson’s attorney, Maggie Hogan, said Taege did not give Maulson enough time to comply. Maulson and Hogan also argue Taege tripped Maulson while pushing him hard, causing the fall. Moments later, another officer arrived and helped lift Maulson from the ground. In the dashcam video, blood is seen streaming across Maulson’s face.
Captain Tyler Young of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department reviewed the incident and said Taege acted appropriately. Young said Taege also had the options of a taser, pepper spray or focused strikes, which he did not use.
He said Taege observed that Maulson was agitated, and Taege was trying to get the situation under control. As for the fall, the sheriff's office contends Maulson’s legs were crossed and he tripped himself.
Maulson said nothing was ever out of control.
He contends he was targeted by Taege because he is a member of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Nation. He said many residents in the area hold animosity toward the tribe, dating back to the so-called Walleye Wars in the 1980s and early '90s, and continuing to this day because of an ongoing dispute over access to non-tribal homes located on the Lac du Flambeau reservation.
Notably, the police dispatcher told Taege before the altercation and arrest that he should be looking for Maulson from Flambeau, according to a motion filed by Maulson's attorney. But Taege later said he didn’t know Maulson was a tribal member.
Maulson shares a name with his uncle, a well-known former tribal president and leader of the tribe during the Walleye Wars. Books have been written about his uncle, and about his actions leading up to a federal court decision that the state wrongfully prohibited Ojibwe members from harvesting fish in the Northwoods outside of the state-designated fishing season. The judge said those rights were guaranteed by treaty.
Many non-tribal people in the area protested the decision.
Young acknowledged some isolated incidents of harassment against tribal members harvesting walleye do still occur. But, he said, Taege is too young to remember the controversy. Further, he said the road access issue affects only a small number of people and is essentially a private matter. Maulson’s "actions are what caused him to be on the ground,” Young said.
Maulson also said he and other tribal members choose not to have or display tribal license plates for fear of being targeted by police outside the reservations. Maulson uses Wisconsin plates.
Young said plates are not a big deal. “I feel bad that somebody feels scared to have tribal plates,” he said.
Maulson was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The other driver was caught by Rhinelander police and charged with disorderly conduct.
Maulson’s wife, Rachel Maulson, said their children, ages 6 and 2 at the time, were traumatized by the incident. She said the older one still has a visceral reaction when he sees police. “He was taught to respect authority, so he’s confused why they would hurt his loved one,” Rachel Maulson said. “When a cop drives by he’s nervous.”
Maulson received 13 stitches above his right eye, and said he still has medical issues affecting his vision and orientation.
Maulsen said he plans to sue the sheriff's office and the deputy, but his attorney told him to hold off until this case is settled. Hogan said a trial is scheduled for early January.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.
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