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Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Mt. Pleasant police, fire departments seeing increased workloads
Holly Gilvary
MOUNT PLEASANT — Police calls in Mount Pleasant are “consistently going up,” with the police department seeing a 4.7% increase from 2024 to 2025 and a 7.5% increase from 2023 to 2025.
That’s according to Mount Pleasant Police Chief Robert Botsch, who delivered the Mount Pleasant Police Department’s 2025 annual report to village trustees May 11.
South Shore Fire Chief Dustin Ellis also presented the fire department’s annual report.
"As of today at 3 o'clock, we're about 300 calls higher this year than we were at the same time last year, already," Botsch said.
MPPD received 26,115 calls last year, according to the annual report.
Botsch said the department is focused on addressing hazardous driving, such as speeding and impaired operation, adding that overall traffic accidents increased in 2025 because the volume of traffic is increasing.
"Everything is unfortunately going up in the traffic area because we have a lot more traffic that is in our area," he said. "We've got a lot more construction that's going on."
The department reported 722 wrecks resulting in property damage, 256 resulting in injuries and 134 involving a hit and run.
The number of traffic stops is up as officers conduct more patrols "to try and adjust behavior," Botsch said.
This summer, MPPD will bring back its PROTECT Initiative (Proactive Operations, Traffic Enforcement and Crime-suppression Team) that it piloted in 2025 to provide additional traffic patrols and proactive enforcement from June 1 to Aug. 31.
“(Officers are) in the hotels, they’re frequenting bars, they’re trying to get in front of problems," Botsch said. "They’re a problem-solving group that just gets out and they have time to do other things.”
While all MPPD officers conduct traffic patrols and proactive enforcement during their shifts, they do so in between calls, according to Botsch. The designated PROTECT officers have the time to practice proactive enforcement for their entire shifts.
“People might complain that they've got speeders on their block; we might not have a squad during normal hours that can sit on that block because they're jumping from call to call to call to call to call,” he said. “Now, in the summer, from June 1 to Aug. 31, we might have that capability because now we've got a car that we've pulled out to just do proactive stuff.”
Last summer, PROTECT issued 177 traffic citations, conducted 13 felony arrests, 35 misdemeanor arrests, 15 municipal arrests, 23 warrant-related arrests, 39 narcotics-related arrests, three firearm-related arrests and reported 18 K-9 utilization instances.
No additional hires are necessary to staff the two-person team.
Staffing and recognition
Despite three officers leaving in 2025, MPPD ended the year fully staffed, hiring four new officers. Two of those hires finished their field training this month.
Botsch also highlighted the department’s community engagement efforts and events, such as the Lakeside COP (Community Oriented Policing) House. The Chicago Police Department visited MPPD’s COP House last year to learn more about their community engagement practices.
“We really engage well with the community and a lot of other agencies are trying to model that, and not just have a house in a neighborhood, but model the engagement, the ability to get out there, the ability to interact, the ability to build relationships," Botsch said.
MPPD also gained re-accreditation from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group through 2028 after an assessment in October. Botsch estimated that about 10% of agencies in Wisconsin have this accreditation.
SSFD calls also up
South Shore Fire Chief Dustin Ellis said the fire department responded to 6,378 incidents last year, with EMS calls accounting for 78% of those.
The call volume is down slightly from 2024, but up overall from 2021 by more than 1,000 calls, according to the department.
Department expenditures in 2025 were about $11.26 million, with a 2026 adopted budget of $12.12 million. The main costs were staffing, overtime, healthcare and equipment.
SSFD will have 64 of its 69 positions filled after the May 29 Racine County Joint Fire Training Academy, according to the department.
Ellis said SSFD’s priorities for 2026 include facility planning, automatic aid expansion, workforce development, policy improvements and the implementation of a strategic plan.
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Thursday, September 18, 2025
Friday, September 5, 2025
Racine woman charged in crash that injured 11 was out on bond for fatal hit-and-run
Kelli Arseneau
A 20-year-old Racine woman is accused of causing a car crash that injured 11 people Sept. 3 while out on bond for a fatal hit-and-run of a pedestrian last year.
According to records, Shamya Anderson didn't have a driver's license in either instance. She was ordered not to drive or commit any new crimes under conditions of her $50,000 signature bond signed in February.
Anderson is accused of killing 44-year-old Dwayne Carr, of Racine, in December 2024. In that case, she's charged with three felonies: hit and run involving death, homicide by vehicle under use of controlled substances and knowingly operating a vehicle without a valid license and causing a death.
Anderson now faces an additional 29 charges in connection with the Sept. 3 crash, which happened just before 3:30 p.m. on the 2000 block of 16th Street.
According to a criminal complaint, surveillance video of the crash showed a Nissan Rogue driving westbound on 16th Street "recklessly and at a high rate of speed." The vehicle is then shown spinning and crossing the center line into the eastbound lane, where it sideswiped a Jeep, then continued to spin and hit a city bus.
Eleven people were injured, including Anderson, but no injuries were life-threatening, according to the Racine Police Department. According to the complaint:
- Six people on the bus were treated for injuries, including three minors: two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old.
- The driver of the Jeep was treated for shoulder, rib and hip pain.
- Three 15-year-old passengers in the Nissan were treated for injuries. One of the three had a broken femur, which required surgery.
Anderson made her initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court for that case Sept. 5. She's being held at the Racine County Jail on $500,000 bond, according to court records.
What are the charges Shamya Anderson faces for the Sept. 3 crash?
Anderson is charged with 25 felonies and four misdemeanors:
- One count of child abuse — recklessly causing great bodily harm (Class E felony)
- One count of second-degree reckless injury (Class F felony)
- Two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety (Class G felonies)
- Five counts of child abuse — recklessly causing bodily harm (Class I felonies)
- One count of knowingly operating without a license and causing great bodily harm (Class I felony)
- 15 counts of felony bail jumping (Class H felonies)
- Four misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and causing bodily harm
What are the details of the Dec. 6 fatal hit-and-run?
A criminal complaint for the December hit-and-run said:
- Racine police were dispatched to the 600 block of North Memorial Drive in Racine just after 6:30 p.m. Dec. 6, 2024, for a report of a man lying in the road.
- First responders determined the man had no pulse. They attempted life-saving measures and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
- Anderson contacted police after the crash to report that she had struck a person with her vehicle, and officers met with her on the 1400 block of Geneva Street.
- Anderson told police she had attempted to merge to avoid the man when she saw him, but was unable to. She said she didn't immediately pull over after hitting the man because she was concerned about "human trafficking" and she was set up to be kidnapped. She said she also found a place to pull over and let the passengers out of her car before calling the police.
- Anderson admitted to police that she didn't have and had never had a driver's license.
- A blood test revealed Anderson had a small amount of THC in her blood. In Wisconsin, a person caught driving with any amount of THC can lead to a ticket or criminal charge.
Anderson is scheduled to return to Racine County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11 for a preliminary hearing in the Sept. 3 crash case, and a status conference for the hit-and-run case.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
Friday, May 9, 2025
Charges filed in connection to pursuit that ended in death of 72-year-old
Caroline Neal
RACINE — A 36-year-old Racine man is facing one count of first-degree reckless homicide in connection to the April 19 police pursuit that ended in the death a 72-year-old man.
Adonis Martin also was charged with one count of vehicle operator flee/elude officer resulting in the death of another, one count of vehicle operator flee/elude officer causing damage to property, one count of hit and run of an attended vehicle, and one count of tampering with a global positioning system tracking device.
Each count reflects that Martin was charged as a repeat offender, following a 2020 Racine County case in which he was convicted of aggravated battery intending bodily harm.
Online court records show Martin’s cash bond was set at $1,000,000 during a May 6 court hearing. Martin is next scheduled to appear in court May 14.
According to a criminal complaint, Racine Police Department officers attempted to stop a Ford Taurus near 11th Street and Pearl Street.
The Taurus reportedly accelerated away from police and crashed into another vehicle, then continued at speeds of 50-60 mph.
Additional officers joined the pursuit westbound on Victory Avenue.
At the intersection of Victory and Lathrop avenues, the Taurus allegedly ran a stop sign and collided with a black 2007 Honda Ridgeline driven by Daniel Brown, according to previous Journal Times reporting.
The criminal complaint states that Brown was found unconscious and not breathing. He was flow to a hospital, but on April 20 died as a result of his injuries.
According to the complaint, there was an active warrant for Martin that was issued after he reportedly cut off a Department of Corrections GPS bracelet on April 7.
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