Friday, September 18, 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, July 1, 2026
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Robin Vos, state’s longest serving Assembly speaker, will not seek re-election
MITCHELL SCHMIDT and KIMBERLY WETHAL Wisconsin State Journal
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Thursday he will not seek re-election next year, ending a more than decade-long career as one the the most influential Republicans in the state.
Vos, 57, the longest-serving Assembly speaker in state history, choked up as he addressed fellow lawmakers and staff on what is anticipated to be the Assembly’s final floor session of the year, saying his career has been “the greatest professional honor of my life.”
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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES |
The Rochester Republican was first elected to the Assembly in 2004 and has represented portions of Racine and Walworth counties. He has led the chamber as speaker since 2013.
His tenure in the Assembly has spanned a plethora of notable moments in Wisconsin politics, including the passage of Republican then-Gov Scott Walker’s controversial Act 10, which dramatically limited collective bargaining powers in the state, and multiple high-stakes presidential elections.
Vos said the decision on whether to run again had been weighing on him for months, but having a mild heart attack in November was part of his decision. Vos is fine, he said, but it his doctor told him he needed to reduce his stress levels.
“Let me tell you, this job is stressful,” Vos said. “It was a sign from God that convinced me I needed to choose a different path.”
Vos told the Wisconsin State Journal at the end of December he would decide in February whether to pursue another term.
Vos’ retirement means that two of Wisconsin’s most influential politicians won’t be in the Capitol come January. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a longtime foil of Vos and his Republican agenda, announced his intent to retire in July, after this year’s budget was finalized.
Vos’ retirement means that two of Wisconsin’s most influential politicians won’t be in the Capitol come January. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a longtime foil of Vos and his Republican agenda, announced his intent to retire in July, after this year’s budget was finalized.
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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the decision to retire had been weighing on him for months, but a mild heart attack in November helped him make the decision. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES |
Evers said in a statement Vos’’ “retirement marks the end of an era in Wisconsin politics, and I’m grateful to have served as governor during Speaker Vos’ tenure.”
“Although we’ve disagreed more often than we didn’t, I respect his candor, his ability to navigate complex policies and conversations, and his unrivaled passion for politics,” Evers said.
“Being in public service is challenging and can be thankless work, most especially when you’re responsible for getting things done,” Evers added. “I understand that better than most. For your sacrifices and your service over the years, thank you, Mr. Speaker.”
Prior to joining the Assembly, Vos was a Racine County supervisor for 10 years. A graduate of UW-Whitewater, a relative powerhouse for churning out influential Wisconsin Republicans, Vos worked as a legislative assistant for Rep. Jim Ladwig, and his successor and wife, Bonnie Ladwig, as well as a district director for Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann.
Outside of state government, Vos owns both a food processing company and a real estate company that largely rents student housing in Whitewater.
Vos’ decision comes as state lawmakers head into the November elections under new, more Democratic-friendly maps signed in early 2024. Vos was a key player in the legislative redistricting fights that took place in 2010, when GOP lawmakers used their legislative majorities to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative maps to favor Republicans. There are currently two legal challenges before the state Supreme Court, which holds a 4-3 liberal majority, seeking to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional boundaries.
Under new legislative maps, liberals are feeling especially bullish on their chances to wrest control of the state Senate and Assembly away from their Republican colleagues.
Republicans say the measures they’ve been able to get across Evers’ desk, including more than $1 billion in tax cuts in the state’s two-year spending plan, should encourage voters to keep the party in control of the Legislature in 2027.
The election also hosts the first open race for Wisconsin’s executive office in 16 years. Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany is the frontrunner on the GOP side, while more than half a dozen Democratic candidates are running.
Vos has often been a thorn in the side of both Evers and his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature due to his ability to lead the Assembly Republican caucus as one of the most influential conservatives in the Capitol. But he’s also clashed with members of his own party at times, including President Donald Trump.
While Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman in 2021 to lead a taxpayer-funded review of Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election — following pressure from Trump to substantiate his baseless claims that the election had been “stolen.”
Trump lost to Joe Biden in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes that year, an outcome that has been substantiated through a recount, court decisions and multiple independent reviews.
The relationship between Gableman and Vos soured over the course of the seven-month review, with Vos ultimately firing Gableman in August 2022 and later calling him “an embarrassment to this state.
Vos closed out his speech saying he hopes the Legislature as an institution will remain strong, especially against the two other branches of government, and offered a reminder that the Legislature is not meant to be “fast, convenient, or easy.”
“I’ll miss the clowns, but not the circus,” Vos said, echoing Linda Upmeyer, former Speaker from Iowa, who said something similar upon her retirement in 2020.
Friday, January 2, 2026
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Cops Gone Wild: Former Wisconsin police chief connected to ammunition importing scheme, feds say
John Diedrich
A former small-town Wisconsin police chief is implicated in a scheme by a California gun dealer to illegally import armor-piercing incendiary rounds into the United States from Bosnia, according to federal court records.
Bringing such ammunition into the country is a violation of federal law, but there are exceptions, including if the ammunition is for an American police department.
In 2021, the California gun dealer and his brother enlisted then-police chief James Bushey of the Town of Linn Police Department in Walworth County to sign documents saying his department needed the ammunition, according to a federal search warrant unsealed in late 2024 and other documents.
In exchange, the gun dealer promised to provide money to pay for squad cars and other equipment for the town's police department, the warrant says.
The plan failed when the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives halted the import, asking why a department of a half-dozen officers policing a town of 2,600 people south of Lake Geneva would need more than a million rounds of such specialized ammunition.
The California gun dealer, Darin Dowd, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. regarding the importation of a half-million of the rounds of ammunition.
A plea agreement was filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin on July 2. Dowd faces up to five years in prison. No court dates have been set.
Dowd did not return messages for comment.
Dowd's brother, Jacob Dowd, has also been implicated along with others, but to date, only Darin Dowd has been charged.
The former chief, Bushey, 41, did not return calls and messages seeking comment.
James Weiss, chairman of the Linn Town Board, confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 9 that Bushey is no longer employed by the town and added officials have been fully cooperating with federal authorities.
"As confirmed by federal representatives, the Town of Linn and its current administration are not subjects of any prosecutorial inquiry," Weiss said, reading from a prepared statement. "The Town of Linn holds all officials to standards of integrity. Actions that violate those standards are inconsistent with our values."
Weiss declined further comment, citing the ongoing federal probe.
Chief misled Town Board on deal, according to court documents
The search warrant and other documents provided these details:
The scheme played out in 2021 as the Dowd brothers were looking for a police chief to file false paperwork to get the highly sought-after ammunition.
Dowd was part owner of United Forces Enterprises, a federal firearms licensee in Vacaville, California.
Bushey said he was approached by his former roommate, who was acting as a go-between with the Dowds. Bushey said he agreed to sign the paperwork saying 1.5 million of the rounds were needed for his department.
At a meeting with the Town Board in June 2021, Bushey told board members he was entering into a creative deal with a gun dealer to get ammunition, which was in short supply at the time, donated to the department.
But Bushey didn't include the fact that he was falsely claiming to the ATF that all the ammunition was for the town department, or that he would be receiving cash payments in exchange for submitting the paperwork.
Bushey provided a second purchase order of 3 million rounds of 12.7X99 Armor-Piercing Incendiary Brass Case ammunition. This type of ammunition is used in firearms such as the Barrett M82 rifle and M2HB/M2 Browning belt-fed rifle.
"This is a large-caliber weapon and is rarely, if ever, used for law enforcement purposes and even more rare to be an API round," the warrant said.
After the paperwork was submitted, an ATF agent contacted Bushey and, according to Bushey, said it “looked a bit odd that a small department in Wisconsin was buying 1.5 million rounds of belt-fed ammo."
John Diedrich can be reached at jdiedrich@gannett.com.
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Thursday, January 30, 2025
32-year-old Walworth County man dies in Racine County crash
Drake Bentley
A 32-year-old Walworth County man died in a vehicle crash in Racine County Wednesday, authorities say.
The Racine County Sheriff's Office said the crash happened shortly after 3:30 p.m. in the town of Norway at the intersection of Highways K and S, or Apple Road and North Beaumont Avenue.
A preliminary investigation revealed the 32-year-old driver in a passenger car was stopped at the stop sign for Beaumont Avenue and pulled out in front of a utility pickup truck on Highway K, driven by a 28-year-old Racine County resident.
The sheriff's office said it's believed the Walworth County man was unfamiliar with the area. He was extricated from the heavily damaged car and life-saving efforts were attempted, but the man died at the scene, the sheriff's office said.
The driver of the pickup truck remained on scene and is fully cooperating with the investigation. No sign of impairment was seen for either driver and no other occupants were in the vehicles, the sheriff's office said.
No other information was immediately available.
Friday, January 3, 2025
Clergy Gone Wild: Judge suspends abuse case against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick until his death
Laura Schulte
According to online court records, on Dec. 27, Walworth County Judge David Reddy declined to dismiss the case against McCarrick but agreed to continue the suspension until the defendant dies. McCarrick did not appear in court for the hearing, and his attorney said there had been "extreme deterioration" in his health since the case was last in front of the judge in early 2024.
Prosecutors in Walworth County and the Department of Justice in 2023 charged McCarrick with sexual assault in a 1977 incident. He was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, and if convicted, McCarrick would have faced up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutors in Wisconsin charged McCarrick after someone reported the abuse to the state Department of Justice's ongoing clergy abuse investigation. The investigation is ongoing with no end date set.
In the incident for which he is charged, prosecutors said McCarrick groped an 18-year-old while they were both staying as guests at a residence on Geneva Lake. According to documents, the teen was in the lake off a dock when McCarrick and another adult man entered the water. Both groped him and discussed his genitals, the complaint alleges.
The teen tried to get away from the men and splashed and made noise, according to the complaint. He got out of the lake with one leg in his swim trunks and ran to the house. He got dressed and asked for a ride to the train station, according to the complaint.
The complainant said McCarrick began sexually assaulting him at age 11. According to the complaint, he reported several incidents in which McCarrick inappropriately touched or assaulted him before he was 18 years old.
McCarrick took the teen to lavish parties and events, the complaint said. The accuser also reported that McCarrick had taken him to an event where several adult men assaulted him. The accuser also said McCarrick had sex with him the day before the incident on Geneva Lake.
In 1977, McCarrick would have been 46 years old. He was a priest in the Archdiocese of New York and was working as the private secretary to Cardinal Terence Cooke. The incident is said to have occurred a month before McCarrick was named auxiliary bishop of New York. He would go on to become the bishop of Metuchen, N.J., then the archbishop of Newark and the archbishop of Washington. He was named cardinal in 2001.
McCarrick never lived or worked in Wisconsin but made visits to the state. He was able to be charged because the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse tolls, or pauses, if the perpetrator leaves the state and does not return, meaning a case can be charged at any point, instead of within a limited number of years.
The Walworth County charge is the latest development in a years-long fall from grace for the once-powerful cardinal. He was also charged in a Massachusetts case, which alleged he assaulted a teenage boy at a wedding in 1974. He pleaded not guilty in 2021. That case was dismissed last year, because McCarrick, who lives at a residence for troubled priests in Missouri, has dementia and was deemed not competent to stand trial.
McCarrick is the only U.S. Catholic cardinal, current or former, to be criminally charged with child sex crimes.
More:Case against disgraced Catholic cardinal suspended; McCarrick not competent to stand trial
His legal issues began in 2017 when a former altar boy came forward to report the priest had groped him when he was a teenager in New York. The next year, the Archdiocese of New York announced that McCarrick had been removed from ministry after finding the allegation to be "credible and substantiated," and two New Jersey dioceses revealed they had settled claims of sexual misconduct against him in the past involving adults.
Pope Francis defrocked McCarrick in 2019 after a Vatican investigation determined he sexually abused minors, as well as adults.
The two-year internal investigation into McCarrick found that three decades of bishops, cardinals and popes downplayed or dismissed reports of sexual misconduct. Correspondences showed they repeatedly rejected the information outright as rumor and excused it as an "imprudence."
The investigative findings released in 2020 pinned much of the blame on Pope John Paul II, who appointed McCarrick archbishop of Washington, D.C., despite having commissioned an inquiry that confirmed McCarrick slept with seminarians.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X @SchulteLaura.
Friday, December 13, 2024
Harry Wait case scheduled for trial
Annie Pulley
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Harry Wait of Union Grove faces two counts of election fraud and two counts of misappropriating identifying information for his alleged role in requesting false absentee ballots in July 2022. |
Wait originally was charged in Racine County in September 2022 with two felony counts of misappropriating identifying information and two misdemeanor counts of election fraud.
His case was reassigned to a Walworth County judge.
The charges allege that Wait requested absentee ballots in July 2022 through the My Vote Wisconsin website using the names of Racine Mayor Cory Mason and Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
According to previous Journal Times reports, Wait reportedly admitted to requesting the ballots in an attempt to expose vulnerabilities in the absentee voting system.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges Oct. 21, 2022.
During the Wednesday hearing, Wait also denied that he stole ballots, noting that the ballots were returned unopened to their rightful owners before the investigation concluded.
Wait reaffirmed claims that the state, as well as the court, had acted inappropriately and engaged in inappropriate communications.
"This is the state out of control, also our court that's out of control," Wait said.
About a dozen of Wait's supporters, some wearing shirts that read, "Harry's fight is our fight," sat watching the proceeding in Walworth County Court at 1800 County Road NN in Elkhorn.
Rebecca Sommers, assistant attorney general for the state's Department of Justice, argued that "the defendant's claims are not based in fact."
Judge Daniel Johnson, denying Wait's motion to dismiss, concluded that the alleged inappropriate behavior on the part of the state and court, though not admitting that it occurred, didn't warrant a dismissal.
Wait is scheduled to appear for a final pre-trial conference April 2, which will occur in Walworth County. His Racine County trial, which Johnson will preside over, is scheduled to begin April 15.
Case background
Wait reportedly notified his attorneys July 16 that he was dismissing them. His request to represent himself was approved Aug. 23.
According to documents in the case record, the court reportedly scheduled an Aug. 16 hearing on March 1, later adjusting the date to Aug. 1.
Wait alleged that the court failed to communicate with him directly about the hearing scheduled for Aug. 1 in Racine County. The court reportedly opted to notify Wait's attorneys, who he had previously discharged.
Through communications with court staff, Wait made clear that he would not appear for the Aug. 1 hearing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In an Aug. 16 action, the case was assigned to a Walworth County judge after multiple Racine County judges recused themselves.
The warrant for Wait's arrest was rescinded Aug. 23.
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