Thursday, August 20, 2026
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Cops Gone Wild: Racine DA reviewing two officers for alleged misuse of Flock
David Clarey
Four Racine-area law enforcement officers have been evaluated for criminal charges due to alleged misuse of a controversial license plate reading technology.
Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson told the Journal Sentinel her office had reviewed possible charges against two Racine Police Department officers and two Racine County Sheriff's Office deputies, with two of those reviews ongoing and two closed with her not issuing charges. The reviews stem from allegations of misuse of the license plate tracking system known as Flock, which has drawn criticism from activists and residents in some Wisconsin cities.
Hanson provided records that offer some detail on the two she elected not to issue charges against.
In one case, a Racine County Sheriff's Office investigator believed his partner "feared immediate harm from her ex-husband," and he used a Flock database to search for the ex-husband. Then he provided the Flock reports to another law enforcement agency in another jurisdiction.
She also wrote it was not unreasonable the investigator would access the Flock database for an investigation into criminal conduct for another jurisdiction.
"I cannot see that he used the information to harass or intimidate the subject of the searches," Hanson wrote.
That investigation was not initiated by a police referral, as is typical in prosecutor reviews of potential criminal charges. Instead, it came from what's known as a John Doe investigation, which can be requested by a member of the public as a way to investigate possible criminal charges.
The John Doe case was filed in March and led Walworth County Judge Kristine Drettwan to order Hanson's office to review potential charges April 13. Hanson declined charges June 1. The case remains open, according to online court records.
Hanson also declined to press charges against a police officer who accessed Flock five times to track his own vehicle, according to a disposition note. There were problems between the officer and a co-owner over payment for the vehicle and, on one occasion, it had been towed while the co-owner had used it.
Hanson, who received the referral in June, said the matter was best handled internally by Racine police and did not reach the level of a crime, because of the limited number of uses and because it was on his own vehicle.
"The co-owner was aware of the FLOCK use and is not afraid of [the officer]," Hanson's document reads.
The Journal Sentinel is not naming either officer, because they were not charged with a crime.
Those details come a week after Racine police confirmed two members were under investigation for allegations of misuse of Flock. A spokesperson for the department previously declined to say whether any other officers had previously been reviewed for misuse. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question clarifying if the officer Hanson declined to issue charges against is one of the two active investigations.
Lt. Michael Luell said July 21 it had internally disciplined the investigator from the incident that Hanson declined to issue charges against. He said the sheriff's office member Hanson is reviewing was investigated by an outside agency, before the criminal referral.
Elsewhere in Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, police have faced discipline for misusing Flock. In some cases, criminal charges have been filed.
In Milwaukee, prosecutors have charged two police officers after investigations into potential misuse. In one case, a former Milwaukee police officer was sentenced to 12 months of probation and a $500 fine after he tracked an ex-girlfriend and her partner.
More recently, a detective tasked with investigating officer misconduct was charged with a felony after investigators alleged he improperly used the system, GPS tracked the vehicle of someone and accessed case files related to the person. That detective, Tehrangi Chapman, had investigated the former police officer who later pleaded guilty to misusing the system, authorities said in a court document.
Officers' misuse of Flock, or allegations of it, have occurred in Menasha as well.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@usatoday.com.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Friday, September 5, 2025
Thursday, May 1, 2025
New COP House opens in Downtown Racine
Friday, June 28, 2024
Wisconsin Elections Commission rejects recall election against Speaker Robin Vos
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, one of the state Legislature’s most powerful Republicans, will not face a recall election this fall, the Wisconsin Elections Commission decided Thursday.
In a 4-2 vote, the bipartisan commission determined that close to 200 signatures submitted by the group seeking to force a recall election against Vos, R-Rochester, were collected after the deadline set in state law and should be deemed invalid.
The decision prompted the Racine Recall Committee, led by Republicans frustrated with Vos for not pursuing impeachment of the agency’s nonpartisan administrator Meagan Wolfe, to call for “the immediate dismantling” of the commission.
Democratic commissioner Carrie Riepl joined her Republican colleagues Don Millis, Bob Spindell and Marge Bostelmann in the decision, which brought the total number of valid signatures down to 6,678, below the 6,850 needed in Vos’ old 63rd Assembly District to force a recall.
Organizers behind the recall effort had 60 days, or until May 26, to collect signatures. However, that period ended the Sunday before Memorial Day, meaning the holiday weekend pushed the date that petitions had to be turned in to the following Tuesday, May 28.
The four commissioners determined that roughly 188 signatures collected on May 27-28 can not be counted, with Democratic commissioners Ann Jacobs and Mark Thomsen opposed.
Thomsen argued the motion to reject the signatures — made by Millis, Vos’ appointee to the agency — was based on a technicality and essentially gives “the most powerful person in the Assembly a free pass.”
“If we just do that, this whole state is going to think this whole thing is just rigged to keep power, and we can’t do that,” Thomsen said before the vote.
Millis said recall organizers were notified that signatures collected after the 60-day window would not be counted.
“I disagree with the idea that we’re giving Rep. Vos a pass,” Millis said. “I don’t think we’re denying anyone’s right to recall. It certainly is a close call in terms of the number of signatures.”
Recall organizers said in a statement after the vote the commission “has demonstrated that it is set up to protect those in power rather than to fairly administer elections and uphold election laws.”
The four commissioners determined that roughly 188 signatures collected on May 27-28 can not be counted, with Democratic commissioners Ann Jacobs and Mark Thomsen opposed.
Thomsen argued the motion to reject the signatures — made by Millis, Vos’ appointee to the agency — was based on a technicality and essentially gives “the most powerful person in the Assembly a free pass.”
“If we just do that, this whole state is going to think this whole thing is just rigged to keep power, and we can’t do that,” Thomsen said before the vote.
Millis said recall organizers were notified that signatures collected after the 60-day window would not be counted.
“I disagree with the idea that we’re giving Rep. Vos a pass,” Millis said. “I don’t think we’re denying anyone’s right to recall. It certainly is a close call in terms of the number of signatures.”
Recall organizers said in a statement after the vote the commission “has demonstrated that it is set up to protect those in power rather than to fairly administer elections and uphold election laws.”
The group in March submitted more than 9,000 signatures seeking to recall Vos, but the elections commission denied the request after determining only 5,905 signatures were valid.
Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson earlier this year said her office had fielded numerous calls about possible identity theft from electors who said their names had fraudulently been added to the first recall petition effort.
The recall drive was launched by Republicans frustrated that Vos refused former President Donald Trump’s request to overturn Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election. Overturning the election is not something the speaker is empowered to do under state law and the state Constitution.
Vos further angered the group by not pursuing impeachment of the election commission’s nonpartisan administrator Meagan Wolfe, as some Republicans have demanded.
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Effort to recall Robin Vos has enough signatures, but questions remain about which district lines appl
Organizers of the second recall effort against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos have turned in enough valid signatures to force a recall, according to Wisconsin Elections Commission staff, but staff members stopped short of recommending that the agency order an election.
According to a more than 200-page staff report ahead of the commission's Thursday meeting, organizers submitted 6,866 valid signatures from Vos' old 63rd Assembly District, narrowly surpassing the 6,850 needed to trigger a recall election.
However, staff also note that questions still linger over which legislative maps should apply to any recall effort, which was launched by Republicans frustrated that Vos, Wisconsin's longest-serving Assembly speaker, refused former president Donald Trump's request to overturn Wisconsin's 2020 presidential election, something the speaker is not empowered to do under state law and the Constitution.
At issue is the Wisconsin Supreme Court's December 2023 ruling that the state's previous legislative maps are unconstitutional, a decision that effectively bars their use even though new maps signed into law earlier this year don't go into effect until November. New maps moved Vos into the state's new 33rd Assembly District.
The commission asked the state Supreme Court for clarification on what legislative boundaries should apply to any recall or special elections held before new maps go into effect, but the state's highest court denied to weigh in on the matter.
The six-member bipartisan commission has until Friday to determine whether Vos can be recalled in his 63rd Assembly District. The commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday.
"If the Commission finds petition sufficient, the Commission would be faced with determining within which district a recall election could be held," staff write in the report.
Staff note that, if a recall is ordered, the vote could be held on Tuesday, August 6, just one week before the August 13 primary.
Vos, R-Rochester, has challenged the recall effort, saying it fails because signatures were collected in the wrong Assembly District. Organizers have contested the recall petitions are valid.
The group in March submitted more than 9,000 signatures seeking to recall Vos, but the elections commission denied the request after determining only 5,905 signatures were valid.
Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson earlier this year said her office had fielded numerous calls about possible identity theft from electors who said their names had fraudulently been added to the first recall petition effort.
Vos did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesd
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Friday, January 7, 2022
No criminal charges to be filed over death of man at Racine Co. Jail
Family says he was suffocated at the hands of the law enforcement officers
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Photo by: Racine Co. Sheriff's Office |
RACINE, Wis. — The Racine County District Attorney will not file criminal charges against sheriff's office staff after a man died in the jail last year.
The attorney representing the family of Malcolm James was one of the first to speak during the press conference, held inside a small event space in Racine. Kevin O'Connor said on Wednesday night, for the first time, family members watched video from body-worn cameras. O'Connor said the video shows James gasping for breath for three minutes before he goes limp.
"Following a physical struggle and subdual by multiple officers the deceased became unresponsive while strapped in a restraint chair," said O'Connor while he addressed a small crowd at the press conference, at times, reading from a medical examiner's report.
The Kenosha County Sheriff's Office was appointed as an outside agency to lead an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Malcolm James. Based on that report, video evidence, and expert opinions, the Racine County District Attorney reached the conclusion that "There are no charges that could be filed in the death of Malcolm James that can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt."
Ahead of the announcement Thursday morning, the district attorney's office released their review of the incident, dated Jan. 5, 2022. The office said in an accompanying statement that District Attorney Tricia Hanson met with the family and loved ones of James on Wednesday.
Read and see more: https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/no-criminal-charges-to-be-filed-over-death-of-man-at-racine-co-jail
Friday, December 3, 2021
Racine County gas station shooting: No charges for law enforcement
RACINE COUNTY, Wis. - The investigation into a shootout between a suspect and a Racine County investigator in July is closed, so new video and court documents were released Thursday, Dec. 2, revealing the suspect had the words "last battle" written on his arm.
On July 13, a Racine County investigator just happened to be pumping gas at the Mobil gas station in Caledonia when a man fleeing police after another shooting pulled up. The district attorney says what the investigator did next saved many lives that day.
A Caledonia officer was responding to a shooting at the Pilot gas station when he spotted the suspect's fleeing Subaru and turned around. Around 30 seconds later, dashcam video shows the suspect getting out of the car and opening fire in the direction of a Racine County investigator.
"I am out with an off-duty officer who has been shot," an officer says in the video.
John McCarthy
As other officers quickly arrive, is discovered the suspect turned the gun on himself. John McCarthy, 32, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Right before the shootout, police say McCarthy shot and killed Anthony Griger, 22, at the Pilot gas station two miles away.
Anthony Griger
Police reports say officers were at McCarthy's home before any of this happened. Reports say McCarthy had pulled the fire alarm at his Hartland apartment and left all the doors open. Officers found his bathtub partially full with "what appeared to be hard drives soaking in the liquid." They also found a whiteboard with notes that "included talk of ‘killing.’"
McCarthy had "last battle" written in Sharpie on his arm when he died.
The district attorney decided the investigator not only acted within his rights by shooting back but wrote that his heroism "most certainly saved many lives, and the community owes the investigator a debt for his heroism."
"The name of the investigator involved has not been released because of his undercover work.
Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson summarized her decision as follows:
"In the case that was presented to me, I can see no basis under which it would be appropriate to file charges against the RASO Undercover Investigator in this case. The Investigator responded, pursuant to his training and experience, to an active shooter situation in the presence of multiple civilian bystanders. While it was unknown to the RASO Undercover Investigator at the Mobil Station, Mr. McCarthy had already shot and killed an innocent victim at the nearby Pilot Station. Mr. McCarthy got out of his vehicle and immediately began shooting, forcing the RASO Undercover Investigator to return fire to protect himself and others. The Investigator was more than justified to use deadly force to protect himself and the innocent bystanders nearby. I have no doubt that the actions of that heroic officer most certainly saved many lives and the community owes the investigator a debt for his heroism on July 13, 2021."
From: https://www.fox6now.com/news/racine-county-gas-station-shooting-no-charges-for-law-enforcement
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Racine man accused of stabbing roommate while yelling homophobic slurs
RACINE JOURNAL TIMES
RACINE — A Racine man was reportedly hospitalized Sunday for a collapsed lung after his roommate allegedly stabbed him while yelling homophobic slurs.
Anthony M. Harrison, 55, of the 1800 block of Marquette Street in Racine, has been charged with attempted first degree intentional homicide with domestic abuse assessments as a repeater and use of a dangerous weapon.
Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson explained in an email that the reason Harrison isn’t facing hate crime charges is: “There are enough facts, outside of those in the complaint, to indicate that the defendant did not intentionally select the victim because he was gay (and that) the two were fighting over household duties as they were roommates. Once the fight began, the defendant began using homophobic slurs.”
Under Wisconsin’s “hate crimes” law, §939.645, a crime can be considered a hate crime only if the crime “is committed or selects the property that is damaged or otherwise affected by the crime … in whole or in part because of the actor’s belief or perception regarding the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry of that person or the owner or occupant of that property, whether or not the actor’s belief or perception was correct.
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Racine alderman arrested after reported police chase early Saturday morning; reportedly plans to plead not guilty
CALEDONIA — Edwin Santiago Jr., a Racine alderman since April, was arrested early Saturday morning following what was reported to be a police chase in Caledonia.
Santiago booking photo
Santiago
Details are still emerging as to what occurred and what preceded the chase. Criminal charges had not been filed by 4:30 p.m. Monday, even though the DA’s Office had issued charges in other cases from over the weekend by that time.
Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson said in an email that her office was still waiting on paperwork from the Caledonia Police Department on the case.
Santiago’s attorney, Patrick Cafferty, said Monday that his client plans to plead not guilty should charges be filed.
“Edwin Santiago is presumed innocent of all charges. He intends to enter a plea of not guilty at the appropriate time,” Cafferty said in a text message. “We urge the public to withhold judgment until all the facts are available.”
Also see: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2021/02/knews-to-know-for-your-saturday.html
Wisconsin teen charged in death of his 1-month-old baby
City of Racine in National News! Straight from Florida!
Stock photo of an ambulance. A Wisconsin teen is facing charges of first-degree reckless homicide and child abuse in connection with the death of his 1-month-old baby, authorities said. (MattGush/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
RACINE, Wis. — A Wisconsin teen is facing charges of first-degree reckless homicide and child abuse in connection with the death of his 1-month-old baby, authorities said.
According to the Journal Times and the Racine County Eye, Shavale Powell, 17, of Racine, was charged in an adult court Monday, just over a week after his 39-day-old baby was found dead in a LaSalle Street home.
Powell and the children’s mother, 18-year-old Javian Clark, told police they had been the baby’s only caregivers the past eight days, authorities said.
Medical examiners later conducted an autopsy on the infant, who had suffered blunt-force injuries to the head, chest and extremities, the Journal Times reported. Officials concluded that the death was a homicide, according to the newspaper.
Powell was arrested and remains jailed on $50,000 bond, authorities said.
Court documents also identified Clark as a co-defendant, according to the Journal Times. She is expected to be charged Tuesday, District Attorney Tricia Hanson told the newspaper.
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