Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Insider: Culture at new Minnesota cannabis agency led to several staff members calling it quits
NYPD on alleged migrant gang out of Times Square
Fallout continues after thieves steal merchandise from freight train in Chicago
Cops Gone Wild: Bayside police hired a sheriff's lieutenant who was demoted and suspended. Here's why.
Claudia Levens
In June, a former Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office lieutenant resigned after being investigated and disciplined for witnessing an attack on a corrections sergeant and walking away, and for negligently firing his service gun in the workplace.
Three days later, he was hired by the Bayside Police Department.
In May, two investigations jointly conducted by the sheriff's office and the Milwaukee Police Department found that Jeremy Franke had violated standards of conduct during the two incidents in March, according to investigation records obtained by the Journal Sentinel and first reported by TMJ4.
Investigators found that Franke had failed to act while witnessing an attack on a corrections sergeant and later had negligently fired his service gun in a work locker room around other deputies.
Franke was demoted to deputy and given a 60-day unpaid suspension for the incidents.
Bayside hired Franke shortly before the suspension was set to start, and while Bayside hired him at essentially the same level the Sheriff's Office demoted him to, Franke avoided the suspension.
Why did Franke walk away from the attack? What did the investigations find? And why would a suburban police department make such a hire, and do it so quickly? Here's what the Journal Sentinel found out:
Investigation found Franke witnessed the attack and failed to act in violation of standards of conduct
On March 5, MCSO sergeant Randall Wilborn was ambushed by a recently released inmate outside the Milwaukee County Jail and stabbed several times. He suffered life-threatening injuries, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
“I was focused on fighting for my life,” Wilborn told investigators.
On March 7, the alleged attacker, Ronell Hart, was charged with attempted undefined-degree intentional homicide.
Franke told investigators he "saw the whole thing" unfold from across the intersection and walked away from the attack with the intent to call for help in the county jail lobby, since he had left his service weapon at home, according to the investigation records.
When Wilborn eventually approached Franke, asking for help, Franke realized it was his colleague. He then escorted Wilborn inside the county jail lobby and called for emergency medical service help, per the investigation.
Deputy Director at the Sheriff's Office David Rugaber told investigators the incident negatively impacted staff morale, and many felt that "Franke failed to act and could have done something to stop or mitigate the attack."
Franke had also told a sergeant he thought the altercation was merely "two bums fighting," according to the investigation.
"A human life was a human life," Rugaber told investigators. "And that really kind of wore upon the lieutenants a little bit."
Investigators eventually found Franke had violated standards of conduct.
They also found Franke had driven to work that morning without his service gun, which he'd left at home, in violation of a standard requiring members to carry duty firearms while operating a MCSO vehicle.
Several attempts to reach Wilborn over the course of two weeks were unsuccessful.
Attempts to reach Franke were redirected to then-Bayside Chief of Police Tom Liebenthal.
Investigators also found Franke had negligently fired his service gun
Just one week later, Franke found himself at the center of another internal investigation when he fired his service gun on March 14 in a substation locker room while other deputies were present.
Records from that investigation show that in doing so, Franke again violated standards of conduct.
Franke told investigators he had no idea how his gun fired a bullet and his finger was nowhere near the trigger.
Two separate supervisors analyzed the weapon and found it was functioning properly. They each told investigators that the trigger was pulled with "100 percent" certainty.
Franke resigned before disciplinary action went into effect and was rehired at Bayside
On May 1, Franke was demoted from lieutenant to deputy as a result of the first incident and was suspended for 60 days for the second.
Both disciplinary actions were set to take effect on June 11, but Franke resigned on June 7.
Three days later, the Bayside Police Department posted a picture on Facebook celebrating Franke's first day as a police officer in the village.
Bayside officials valued Franke's experience amidst ongoing staffing troubles
Former Bayside Police Chief TomLiebenthal, who retired in August, two months after hiring Franke, said the police department was aware of the investigation and the disciplinary actions when they hired Franke.
Liebenthal, who previously worked at the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, said that during the "thorough and rigorous" hiring process, Franke had been forthcoming about his time at the sheriff's office.
Liebenthal said the department hired Franke as a police officer, a position comparable to the deputy position the sheriff's office had demoted him t
He said Franke was hired during a time when the department faced heightened staffing challenges. The department valued his 22 years of experience in law enforcement, since Bayside officers average around six years of experience per person, Liebenthal said.
"It has been a big challenge to maintain staffing levels that are that are consistent with quality people over the last few years," said Liebenthal. "It's one of the most significant challenges that we face in this career right now."
In the months before Franke was hired, the department was preparing to be short five of the 13 total staff roles budgeted for, Village Manager Andy Pederson said. Pederson also independently reviews new police officer hires.
Two officers had previously resigned, following an investigation from The Badger Project, which revealed their names were included on a leaked membership list for the far-right, anti-government group the Oath Keepers. Others were injured or had expressed they were looking to leave the department, Liebenthal said.
As of Sept. 30, the department was only recruiting for one officer vacancy and is working through the recruitment process to fill the police chief position, Pederson said.
Bayside police chief retired after seeing hiring processes through, including Franke's
Franke's hiring came at the cusp of a period of transition at the Bayside Police Department, Liebenthal said.
Before the department hired Franke, Liebenthal had been hoping to retire but stayed on to help recruit more officers and oversee the transitions.
"I couldn't in good conscience leave at that point, so I decided to stay to get us through the staffing situation," he said. Liebenthal ended up submitting retirement paperwork on July 16.
His last day with Bayside Police was Aug. 16 when he was succeeded by Jeff Roemer, who is serving as interim police chief.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13
This local story is an example of why I started the "Cops Gone Wild" series: bad cops are rarely punished and, unless decertified, just move on to another police department where they continue to act badly and inflict harm upon innocent citizens. This occurs across the country. Taxpayers pay for bad cops' mistakes and their qualified immunity protects them from responsibility for their crimes. Judges, too, are just as bad as the bad cops. These are protected individuals who do not play by the same rules as the rest of us.
Night of fun takes tragic turn after Racine Horlick graduate falls from building, dies
April Helms
The Racine family of a 19-year-old Kent State University student is wrestling with his untimely death after a night with friends turned tragic.
Jayden Brieske, a sophomore studying business, was at the University Inn off-campus apartments with two friends Wednesday night when they decided to climb onto the roof, said Brieske's uncle, Jake Gordon of Hudson, Ohio. When Brieske was climbing down, he slipped and fell, hitting concrete.
"He fell in the worst possible way," Gordon said.
Gordon said his nephew's friends did not see what happened but when they realized something was wrong, one started to administer first aid while the other called 911.
Brieske, a 2023 graduate of Racine Horlick, fought to survive but ultimately died Friday of complications from his injuries, his uncle said.
Brieske had been staying with the Gordons while he attended Kent State. Most of his family is from Racine.
Gordon said he and his wife recently moved to Hudson themselves less than three years ago with their two young children.
Along with attending college classes, Brieske worked as a cashier at the Heinens store in Hudson, his uncle said.
"Needless to say, we are all in shock," Gordon said. "... Most of us, we get chances with stuff. That's the brutal part to me. He had a free ride to Kent State and was the best kid, never got into trouble, never said a bad word about anyone. He watched our two boys, 10 and 5, all the time for date nights — took them to Skyzone once a week."
Kent State University issued the following statement on Monday: "We are deeply saddened to learn about the death of Jayden Brieske. A Wisconsin native, Jayden was a sophomore at Kent State University majoring in general business. The Kent State community sends its thoughts and prayers to Jayden’s family, friends and all who knew and loved him."
Gordon said that Brieske was looking forward to studying abroad next year.
"He was nervous about it but he was looking forward to it," he said. "He was on the cusp of all sorts of cool things going on for him."
Brieske had a passion for cars and wanted to work in the automotive industry, Gordon said.
"When he was 4 and 5, he could tell you what each car was," he said. "He wanted to do a design type of role."
Brieskie also "liked hanging around with family," his uncle said. "He made a lot of effort to get home to Wisconsin often."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover medical costs and for bringing his body back to Wisconsin.
Carrie Lampkin, who set up the account, said money raised will be given to his mother. As of Monday night, more than $7,600 had been raised.
Lampkin said that Brieske's final surgery was to donate his organs.
"He had insurance, but there will still be a ton of bills when everything is said and done," Lampkin wrote on the GoFundMe page. "It is also going to cost extra to bring Jayden home from Ohio."
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com.
25-year-old sentenced to prison for possessing child porn
Annie Pulley
RACINE — Dale Lecus Jr. of Caledonia was sentenced Friday to six years in prison after being found guilty of one count of possessing child pornography.
“I’m sorry to my victims and their families who have had to relive their past through my demented choices,” Lecus said, addressing Judge Jon Fredrickson in the courtroom. “I will continue any treatment provided to further myself becoming a positive member of the community. I’m sorry to my community and my family for letting everybody down.”
Lecus, who is 25, also will serve a period of extended supervision for an additional six years.
Seven additional child pornography charges were dismissed but read into the record.
Lecus will pay a $500 surcharge for each count, totaling $4,000, and he will be made to comply with the sex offender registry requirements for at least 15 years after his sentence.
Lecus also was sentenced to an additional year of confinement and extended supervision after pleading guilty to a felony bail jumping charge. This sentence will run concurrent to the first.
According to his defense attorneys, Lecus did not intentionally download child pornography. He downloaded adult pornography, which included images of child pornography, but reportedly admitted to viewing it and failing to delete it from his file storage.
Lecus also reportedly made advances toward a 16-year-old coworker while free on bond and participated in an online chatroom and communicated with underage individuals, although he had been prohibited from using the Internet.
“You seem to be a prosocial individual in many respects. In some of the following respects, though, you’re not,” Fredrickson said. “You willingly violated the bond ... You are currently a danger to society.”
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Flynn noted in her remarks that the term “child pornography” does not adequately represent the underlying crime.
“Pornography kind of gives it a veneer that it just doesn’t deserve,” she said. “Because what this is, is children being sexually assaulted.”
According to defense attorney Benjamin Lutgen, Lecus accepted full responsibility, cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation and participated in sex offender treatment.
Lecus originally downloaded the material when he was 15, Lutgen said. When he transferred data from an old to a new cellphone in November 2020, the content was flagged.
“He admitted that he did see those and that he should have deleted them, but he didn’t,” Lutgen said. He “thought it was adult stuff. He did see some children stuff but that’s not what excited him.”
About 115 of the 1,600 files Lecus originally downloaded reportedly contained pornographic depictions of children.
Monday, October 14, 2024
Racine County proposes $238M budget for 2025 that includes cuts
Holly Gilvary
STURTEVANT — Interim Racine County Executive Thomas Roanhouse presented the county’s proposed $238 million 2025 budget to the county board last Tuesday.
Roanhouse said the budget’s $5.1 million decrease from last year is largely because funding from the American Rescue Plan Act is ending.
The proposed tax levy for 2025 is $64.3 million, a decrease of 0.4%.
Roanhouse said that at the beginning of the budget season, the county was confronted with a $17 million deficit.
“We successfully reduced the deficit by reviewing and trimming line items, utilizing shared revenue, factoring in net new construction and implementing a series of belt-tightening measures,” he said.
Cuts in the budget include reducing funding to the Racine County Economic Development Corporation by 62%; a $200,000 reduction in the Workforce Division budget; the decision to leave two county positions unfunded; and the freezing of all employee merit pay increases.
“These measures, while necessary, reflect the ongoing challenge of balancing rising operational costs against declining revenues, making this an especially complex and challenging budget cycle,” he said.
Highlights of the budget include: the opening of the Youth Development and Care Center; the construction of roundabouts at County Highways A and J and Highways U and G; highway improvements along highways KR and T; replacing windows at the Racine County Courthouse and installing energy-efficient LED lighting; and completing the refurbishment of the courthouse’s sixth-floor courtroom.
Roanhouse also touted the upcoming Microsoft data centers in Mount Pleasant, calling it a “transformative moment” for the county.
“This development will bring more than just jobs — it will attract talent, investments and additional business opportunities,” he said.
Roanhouse mentioned the proposed 0.5% county sales tax multiple times throughout his presentation, saying the county’s future would be at stake without it.
“The reality is that without the sales tax, we will be forced to make severe cuts that will compromise public safety, infrastructure and key services across the county,” Roanhouse said.
In other business, the board:
- Approved a resolution naming the upcoming Youth Development and Care Center in honor of former County Executive Jonathan Delagrave.
- Authorized a non-cash lease for Racine County Case Eagle Lake Park in Rochester for research and demonstration farming purposes by the Watershed Protection Committee for 2025-28.
Waterspouts over Lake Michigan are possible early this week, NWS says
Hope Karnopp
Conditions are ripe for waterspouts over Lake Michigan through Tuesday, the National Weather Service says.
Waterspouts occur frequently between August and November, according to the NWS, and typically pop up during the afternoon and evening hours. They are common when water temperatures are warm, the air is cold and moist, and wind speeds are relatively light.
"It happens several times a year," said NWS meteorologist Mark Gehring. "You'll get these strong low pressure areas coming out of Canada, and they have very cool temperatures aloft, and you have the warm waters of Lake Michigan."
Rain and thunderstorms are expected on Monday and Tuesday in the Milwaukee area, with colder temperatures in the mid-50s.
Waterspouts are often associated with showers and thunderstorms, Gehring said, but they can also happen with cumulus clouds, which have rising air and updrafts.
Gehring said a slow-moving front that moved through Milwaukee on Sunday was stuck off the shore and started producing funnel clouds, and the NWS received reports of waterspouts.
Waterspouts can move onshore, at which point NWS may issue a tornado warning. Gehring, who has worked at the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan office for 24 years, can't recall a waterspout ever moving onto land near Milwaukee. About 10 or 15 years ago, he remembered people viewing waterspouts that were close to the Hoan Bridge.
"Most likely, it'll dissipate before it comes on land. But that is possible, if you have enough of an easterly wind," he said.
Waterspouts pose a danger to boaters, who should head at a 90-degree angle from the direction the waterspout appears to be moving.
Sometimes waterspouts are visible from the shoreline. If you see a waterspout, the NWS encourages submitting a report online or posting a photo and tagging them on X or Facebook.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
A dangerous trend: Domestic violence in Racine
Annie Pulley
RACINE — Of the four homicides that have occurred in Racine this year, three were rooted in domestic incidents.
“I think anybody in the city can identify with the experience of having someone you love in a relationship with someone else and be worried about, you know, whether that person’s going to do right by them,” said John Tate II, the director of the city’s Department of Community Safety.
 |
| John Tate II |
Increasing danger
This seemingly universal concern connects to what Tate believes is a shift since 2022 from retaliatory, group violence toward domestic violence.
“”It’s getting deeper and more personal and harder to see on the outside until it’s already almost too late,” Tate said.
According to Tate, this shift also includes gun violence.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline maintains that 50% of women killed via gun violence are killed by family members or intimate partners.
The hotline also estimates that about 24 people per minute become victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by a partner.
While one in three women have been involved in domestic violence, one in four men also have been victimized, said Jori Chambers, the executive director for the Women’s Resource Center in Racine.
 |
Jori Chambers spoke about the state of domestic violence during an event Sept. 26 in Downtown Racine. |
“Just because you’re a man,” Chambers said, “that doesn’t mean it’s less dangerous.”
Statistics from the Racine Police Department show that in 2023, five of nine homicides were domestic in nature. In 2024, investigated cases of domestic violence in the city numbered 412 as of Oct. 4.
 |
| Data representing domestic violence cases investigated by the Racine Police Department from 2019 to 2024. |
Chambers believes that domestic violence rates are increasing, and she believes the severity of the violence is increasing as well.
The WRC is a nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic violence. The center staffs a shelter and provides legal support, advocacy, housing and other services.
Domestic violence is pervasive and claimed 96 lives in Wisconsin in 2022, according to the latest annual homicide report from End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, a statewide coalition based in Madison. Homicide victims varied in age from 20 months to 92 years old, and homicides were evenly split between rural and urban environments.
According to Chambers, WRC’s 34-bed shelter serves about 175-200 people each year, while non-shelter resources reach about 450-500 people annually.
The shelter is more often at capacity than not, she said.
Deeply rooted
The emotional ties often shared between the abuser and the abused makes domestic violence uniquely vicious.
“You love this person, and they supposedly love you,” Chambers said. “You’re trying to get back to what they showed you in the beginning.”
A host of other factors also entangle survivors and perpetrators. These often include children and housing.
What amplifies domestic violence is just as complex.
According to Chambers, so much is generational. Watching a parent endure abuse can misinform children about what’s acceptable behavior between intimate partners.
Olivia Turquoise Davis, an alder for Racine’s third district, echoed Chambers’ assessment.
 |
| Turquoise Davis |
“We have to break the cycle,” Turquoise Davis said about children witnessing domestic violence in the home.
Younger people also find themselves in abusive relationships, she said, and some of these relationships are ending in homicide.
“Where did we miss?” Turquoise Davis asked.
Tate noted that there’s considerable overlap between unhealthy relationships and young people aged 18-30 who may be engaged in street violence. Common points of conflict are custody issues and unhealthy co-parenting strategies.
“There is a message being received somewhere along the way that this is the way you’re supposed to resolve conflict with your intimate partner,” Tate said.
One critical element to any long-term solution is sharing a different message, he explained.
More immediate factors can also affect the numbers. A lack of affordable housing, inflationary pressure and job insecurity are key stressors that can lead to more dangerous situations.
“Money is a huge stressor in domestic violence,” Chambers said. “(When) money becomes tighter, domestic violence could become worse.”
But “it can happen to anyone,” Turquoise Davis noted.
Funding
The Journal Times previously reported that the WRC was one of several agencies to receive grants from the Department of Community Safety. The center received $40,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funding in September.
 |
Mayor Cory Mason, center, presents a check to Womens Resource Center Executive Director Jori Chambers, left, and Shelter Director Denise Staufenbeil. |
“(From) 2020 to now,” Turquoise Davis said, “one thing that helped domestic violence agencies were the ARPA dollars, but that ends soon.”
There is a lack of local resources for domestic violence, and agencies are operating on tight budgets, she said. But ARPA is not the only source of federal funding that’s in jeopardy.
Another funding source for agencies that target domestic violence is the 1984 Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence explains that the act allocates money from fines and penalties collected from federal prosecutions to the Crime Victims Fund.
Money from this fund serves more than 6 million crime victims each year. The money also serves about 6,500 organizations that provide services like shelters, rape crisis centers and child abuse treatment programs.
The Crime Victims Fund, however, is receiving fewer deposits.
According to an announcement from the state’s Office of Violent Crime Victim Services, VOCA funding in Wisconsin was projected to decrease from $44.5 million annually to $13.9 million annually beginning Oct. 1, 2024.
Grant awards also are capped at $250,000. If recipients are funded to this cap, only 52 programs will receive help.
At the time of the state’s announcement, Wisconsin was spreading $44.5 million across 135 programs.
According to Chambers, the WRC does not directly receive federal funding nor is the agency dependent on federal funding for its operations. But the center isn’t impervious to federal drawbacks.
“WRC was not federally funded prior to the cuts,” Chambers said. “However, the funding cuts directly affect the agencies WRC directly collaborates with, which limits their capacity and puts a greater strain on our agency. There need to be more funds available to DV programs, especially because the number of cases only continue to rise. All shelters are at capacity (a) majority of the time, citing funds only makes it more difficult to serve the survivors properly.”
It’s unclear whether VOCA funding will increase in the future.
Gov. Tony Evers, however, mitigated the projected loss by signing a $10 million funding bill for crime victims in March.
Looking forward
Turquoise Davis previously worked for the WRC and End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin. Her goal as a public servant is to promote community wellbeing.
“I remember growing up, domestic violence was an in-house issue,” she said. “We have to break away from that and talk about this as a community issue. It’s not taboo.”
A few days before the beginning of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the WRC hosted its second annual Walk to Break the Silence in Monument Square, representing the continued push to bring the issue into public view.
“If we’re visible,” Turquoise Davis said, “I believe the dollars will come.”
Resurrecting the city’s domestic violence task force is also critical, according to Turquoise Davis.
Racine formerly had a domestic violence task force representing law enforcement, community organizations and nonprofit groups.
Tate’s department wants to bring that task force back.
“It’s important to have collaborative efforts around key issues where there are intersections of interest,” he said. “I don’t think any issue that we’re facing that is related to community safety can be done without collaboration.”
WRC is committed to collaboration and merged with transitional housing provider Bethany Apartments in July. The center also collaborates with BeLEAF Survivors, a service for survivors of sexual assault; Fight to End Exploitation, a nonprofit dedicated to ending human trafficking; and others.
“One thing I’ve noticed in our community is that those organizations, while small, work really close together and try to do their best to make this safer for everybody,” Chambers said.
According to Chambers, it takes about seven times for survivors to permanently remove themselves from abusive situations. But about 85-90% of the people the WRC serves do find their own place.
Looking toward prevention, Chambers and Turquoise Davis have contributed to the WRC’s Safe Start program, which teaches middle and high school students about healthy relationships and unacceptable behaviors.
And both pull inspiration from the success stories.
“Seeing the change in the people we work with is amazing,” Chambers said.
But the goal will only be met when cases and reports of domestic violence are low or zero, or when the number of people who require services is low or zero, Turquoise Davis said.
“If we let up off the gas,” she said, “then we’re going to slow down.”
If you or someone you know is in need of domestic violence services, reach out to the WRC’s crisis line at 262-633-3233 or to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Posts
