4th East District Police Newsletter--2003

Hello Everyone.

This is the 4th East District Newsletter for 2003. It's been a little longer than usual (3 weeks) since the last newsletter so a few of the items may seem a little dated. There was not very much to report during the first two weeks, but a few more significant events occurred in the last week.

Residential Burglaries

5200 Greenbriar La. on 2/17/03 during the day. Front door found unlocked and open, as well as, the patio door found unlocked (both had been locked upon departure in the AM).
4700 Cottage Grove Rd on 2/13/03 between 5pm-6pm. Apt. left unlocked; Cash, cameras, and jewelry taken.
500 Davidson St between 1/31/03-2/16/03. Victim returned from vacation and found his home had been entered through a rear kitchen window that the lock had been jimmied. Loose change and collector coins taken.
400 Wyalusing Dr. on 2/21/03 overnight. Newly constructed home; secured, but key left accessible for workers to enter. ~$1800 in carpet laying tools taken.
3300 Milwaukee St on 2/21/03 from 8:30am-11:30pm. Rear door lock pried; Sony DVD player, $1500 in DVD's, HP Notebook Computer, Play Station, misc. clothing, diamond ring, men's gold bracelet taken.

Commercial Burglaries

Wendy's, 2431 S. Stoughton Rd on 2/14/03 at 2:40am. Alarm was tripped at 2:40AM but went unreported due to recent false alarms. Break-in found at later time when opening business.
Domino's Pizza, 4680 Cottage Grove Rd on 2/16/03. Rock thrown through glass door to gain entry.
Cost Cutters, 4925 Commercial Ave. on 2/21/03 overnight. Damage from attempt to pry rear door.
Video Game Exchange, 4602 Monona Dr. on 2/23/03 at 4:30am. Alarm set off by front glass window being smashed.

Thefts

Theft from Auto at 2700 Union St. on 2/3/03. CD's and leather case taken.
Attempted theft from auto, 209 N. Thompson Dr. Owner heard car alarm at 12:20pm on 2/5. Checked car and found door lock popped in. Nothing taken.
Theft from autos, Schoepp Motors, 2424 S. Stoughton Rd. 2/1-2/3. Over weekend 3 cars had windows broken and stereos and gauges taken.
Theft from Auto in the Meadows parking lot on 2/9/03, between 7:30am-10am. Window smashed; tachometer and CD's taken from '91 Honda Accord.
Theft from McDonalds, 6402 Millpond Rd between 2/16/03-2/18/03. Gated and padlocked play area was defeated and entered; life-size Ronald McDonald (value $3000) chained to bench he was sitting on was taken.
Theft form Auto at Park & Ride on 2/20/03 between 9am-1am (2/21/03). Window smashed: Sony CD player taken.
Theft from Auto at Walgreens, 2909 E. Washington Ave on 2/24/03. Drills, sawzall, ratchet set (value $1850) taken from utility cabinets of vehicle.

Damage to Property

Video Game X-change, 4602 Monona Dr on 2/8/03 at 2:50 am. Officers responded to alarm. Found front glass door kicked off its track, but not shattered; no entry. Shoe imprint on door measured and photographed.
Culver's, 4401 Cottage Grove Rd on 2/14/03 at 1:20am. The outside pane of a double pane window was broken. Video captured two masked male subjects approach the window, and then are seen fleeing to the wooded area by the parking lot.
Graffiti at 726 Walsh Rd. over the weekend (second incident in a month). "REFER" written (4'x10') in blue, outlined in green balloon lettering. Same style ad color as "SOLO" last month.
Jerry's Campers, 4506 E. Broadway. Locked door to camper on lot pried open. Also, attempt to pry soda machine and cut the electrical cord.
Orlando Bell Park, 2278 S. Stoughton Rd. on 2/18/03. Complaint of vehicles spinning donuts in park area causing damage near the service path to center of park.
Graffiti at Schoepp Motors, 2508 S. Stoughton Rd on 2/21/03 overnight. West side of building painted w/ red & black tag and blue tag.
Fastenal Co., 2413 Advance Rd on 2/23/03. Large piece of asphalt thrown through window.

Robbery

Strong Arm Robbery at Walgreens on Monona Dr. on 2/20/03. Victim is LaFollette student who reports he went to Walgreens during his lunch when he was struck from behind by unknown male (sounded like teenager) who stated "give me your money". Victim handed suspect $4. Suspect fled; described as 6', thin, wearing black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, white tennis shoes.

Fatal Traffic Accident

On Feb. 10 at 8:11am, officers responded to a traffic accident on Milwaukee St. near Lansing. A Dane County Deputy had happened upon the scene, immediately after the accident and with the aid of citizens in the area, removed the female driver from her car. The Deputy and a citizen began to do CPR. When Officer Krista Stuber arrived on the scene, she took over for the citizen and continued CPR until Fire Rescue arrived. The female never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead upon arrival to a local hospital. The investigation indicated that the Miranda Mueller had been driving her car inbound on Milwaukee St. when the car began to fishtail on the snowy road. A privately owned garbage truck was being operated outbound on Milwaukee St. Miranda's vehicle slid into the path of the truck and was struck on the passenger side. Miranda was talking on a cell phone with a family member at the time of the accident.

Inexperience, slippery roads and the distraction of the cell phone are likely contributing factors to this tragic accident. Thanks to all of the officers who assisted with the accident and to Officer Krista Stuber who attempted to revive the victim.

Miranda was on her way to Edgewood College where she was a student. Our sympathies and prayers go out to her family and friends.

Deputy's Pursuit Ends in Fatality Accident

On Saturday morning, March 1, shortly after 2am, our officers were advised that a Dane County Deputy was pursuing a vehicle on Buckeye into the City. Before any Madison Officers arrived in the area, the fleeing vehicle struck another vehicle driving South on Hwy 51. The driver of the offending vehicle was arrested. There were 3 occupants in the other car. One of the passengers died. The driver and other passenger were hospitalized. Part of Buckeye and Stoughton Roads were closed until after 9am.

Incidents like this remind us of the grave responsibility our officers bear when pursuing a suspect vehicle. The debate of whether or not to pursue will likely be resurrected and re-examined. Is a suspect's speed and intoxicated driving a threat to life prior to a pursuit? If officers never pursue an offender, will more offenders try to outrun the police to avoid arrest? When the offender is caught without injury to others, the pursuit may be viewed a success. When the outcome is as tragic as this one, many feel the need to assign blame. To whom? The offender who chose to flee? The officer who chose to pursue? Had the officer not pursued, might there have been a different victim of the offender's speed and erratic driving? These are questions with no clear or easy answers. This is but one more example of the precarious position in which our officers find themselves on a regular basis. In but a few seconds, the officer makes a decision which we may debate for a lifetime without resolution.

Drunk Driver Tries to Drive Through Fatal Accident Scene

The intersection of Buckeye and Stoughton Rd was closed down during the investigation of the above fatality accident. Numerous police squads and road flares were placed across the roadway. At 4:20 am, one of the officers saw a car drive up and try to squeeze past the squad cars, nearly striking one of them. When the officer contacted the driver, he appeared dazed and did not immediately respond to questions. His breath smelled of alcohol. He denied drinking any alcohol. The 18 year old man was asked to perform field tests. An examination of this eye movement indicated he was probably over the legal limit. But he performed satisfactorily on the "heel to toe" and "one leg stand" tests. As a result the officers arrested him under the law that prohibits underage persons from driving with any alcohol in their system. (Commonly called the Not a Drop Law) When the driver took the intoxilyzer test, he tested .18, nearly twice the limit. The fact that he was able to perform well on the field tests is an indicator that he has a high tolerance for alcohol; which means he probably does a significant amount of drinking on a regular basis. The test that looks at the movement of the eyes, however, is not affected by a person's tolerance. You can't get better at it by drinking a lot. We consider it to be one of our most reliable field tests for determining if a person is over the legal limit.

Eluding Suspect Batters Officer

On Feb. 23 at 2:45am, Sgt. Karen Krahn was working in the downtown area when she saw a car ahead of her slightly weaving back and forth. As she stopped at a red light behind the car, another driver, Keith, pulled up to next to her and told her that the car in front of her was "all over the road". Sgt. Krahn followed the car out Johnson St. to observe its driving behavior. At Winnebago and Atwood, she turned on her red lights and tried to stop the car. The car initially pulled over, but after a couple of seconds, it pulled away and traveled East on Atwood at about 50 mph. After nearly striking another vehicle, the car turned onto Corry St. At Corry and St. Paul, the vehicle lost control and stopped in a front yard. A female passenger jumped out and ran between the houses. As the male driver began to run, Sgt. Krahn gave chase on foot. Sgt. Krahn tackled the driver, near the front of his car. The two wrestled for a few moments and the driver was able to slip free and try to run again. Sgt. Krahn grabbed hold of the driver again, attempting to take him to the ground. The driver turned and punched Sgt. Krahn twice in the face. Sgt. Krahn was able to take the driver to the ground, but wrenched her knee in the process. The driver again wrestled free and Sgt. Krahn was able to grab hold of him before he fled. The driver broke free of her grasp and ran. Sgt. Krahn discovered that her injured knee would not support her weight, so she was unable to give chase. Mean while, Keith, the citizen who had pointed out the drunk driver to Sgt. Krahn, had followed her and witnessed her fight with the driver. Keith chased the driver and grabbed hold of him. The driver tried to punch Keith, but Keith was able to hold him for officers who were arriving on the scene. Sgt. Krahn was conveyed by Fire Rescue to a local hospital. She suffered a bruised cheek from the punches and a strained knee. She remains on restricted duty at this time, while her knee heals. The driver, an 18 year old Middleton man, was charged with: Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Driving with a Revoked License, Attempting to Elude an Officer, Battery to a Police Officer, Resisting Arrest and Underage Person Not to Consume Alcohol. He refused to take the intoxilyzer test, so we do not know what his blood alcohol level was. Hats off to Keith, who went above and beyond the normal expectations of a citizen and came to Sgt. Krahn's aid and apprehended the suspect.

Drug Arrests at Eastside Hotel

Drug Task Force officers recently responded to an Eastside hotel where an employee gave information about a guest that may be involved in drug activity. The officers were able to make contact with 2 men associated with that room. The men denied being involved in drug activity and gave consent for the officers to search their room. The officers did not locate any drugs. Officer Boyd, of the Task Force, had her dog, Arno, search the room. He alerted on the back of a small refrigerator, an indication that he detected drugs in the area. The officers checked inside the back of the refrigerator and found a large bag of marijuana packaged in smaller amounts for sale. Both men were arrested for Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver. Great job by the officers and Arno. Arno has worked for our Dept. (with trainer and handler, Chris Boyd) for over 4 years. He is trained to detect several types of controlled substances and has taken part in hundreds of drug investigations since joining our Dept. Arno has been a valuable asset to our fight against drugs.

East District Inservice

During the year, officers attend inservices to update their training. Some of the training is required by all commissioned personnel, regardless of rank or assignment. Each year, one day of training is presented at the District level. Each District determines what topics they will present to their officers. Chief Williams, Asst. Chief Cole and Asst. Chief Wray appeared at all of the inservices to discuss current and upcoming goals and issues for the Department. East District presented the following topics. The command staff discussed expectations and goals for the East District personnel. Off. Denise Markham, the Darbo/Worthington Neighborhood Officer, gave an update on the status of her neighborhood. She also talked about the latest trends in youth gangs and drugs. One of our Forensic Unit Investigators gave an update on retrieving latent finger prints at crime scenes and the latest technology for fingerprint comparison for our patrol officers and sergeants. At the same time, detectives learned to use our digital cameras and retrieve, store and send photos that they take in the field or at crime scenes. We did 2 table top exercises involving actual past Madison cases. One was the homicide shooting of a 13 year old boy. The other was a death of a 3 year old at the hands of her mother. In each case, the officers discussed how they would respond to and investigate the incident. The sergeants discussed their responsibilities supervising the scene and detectives discussed their role in continuing the investigation started by the officers. The exercise allowed officers, sergeants and detectives to discuss the best way to handle these serious crime scenes and to better understand each other's roles and needs. Lt. Sandy Theune did an update on report writing, discussing the needs of detectives and prosecutors in regard to information the officers document in their reports. Besides the training, it was a great networking opportunity for personnel of different ranks and from different shifts, who may not ordinarily have an opportunity to see each other.

Traffic Enforcement Near Schools

The Traffic Team has been addressing problems at some of our schools regarding parents dropping kids off in the "No Stopping, Standing" areas. These areas are posted this way so that children can be easily seen and are not running between vehicles when crossing the street. Most of the enforcement has been in the form of parking citations, but a few traffic citations for u-turns and speeding have also been issued.

On Feb. 13, 25 citations were issued before school at Schenk and Whitehorse Schools. On Feb. 14, 29 citations were issued before school at Sennett and LaFollette Schools.

Traffic Enforcement

Officer Veatch of the Traffic Team reports the following enforcement. C: Citation, W: Written Warning, V: Verbal Warning

LOCATION	DATE	TIME	ACTION	NOTES
266.8 EB Hwy 12	2-15	4:40-5:25 pm	1C
266.4 EB Hwy 12	2-15	5:25-6:25 pm	2C, 1V
4100 EB Hwy 30	2-12	4:20-4:50 pm	1C
4200-4400 Buckeye	2-11	6:25-6:55 pm	0	Snow-covered road
100 Dempsey Rd.	2-11	7-7:30 pm	1V	Heavy snow
10-100 S. Fair Oaks	2-14	4:40-4:55 pm	0
400-700 Pflaum	2-12	5:50-6:20 pm	1C
100-300 Swanton	2-11	7:45-8:15 pm	1C, 1V
4700-5000 Turner	2-11	2:55-3:25 pm	1C
3000 E. Wash.Ave	2-10	9:20-9:35 pm	1V
E. Washington Ave	2-15	9:20-10:50 pm	2C, 1V

Officer Natera of the Traffic Team reports the following enforcement:

4800 Cottage Grove Rd. 13 citations 3 warnings
3100 E. Washington 11 citations
Lexington & Commercial 1 citation
Monona & Pflaum 3 citations
E.Washington & Lexington 2 citations

That's all for now. Tomorrow, I head to sunny and warm (hopefully) Florida until March 17. Lt. Tom Snyder and Lt. Sandy Theune will be available to assist you in my absence.

Be careful. Be safe.

Captain Jilene Klubertanz