COPS: Madison

As 25 new cadets officially join the Madison police force this Sunday, they walk into an increasingly troubled environment.

Ben Masel, who was peppersprayed and arrested while collecting campaign signatures at the Memorial Union Terrace during the summer of '06, took UW-Madison police officer Michael Mansavage to court on a federal civil rights suit. Though the trial yesterday apparently ended in a hung jury, it also served to bring out several new, incriminating details about how the officers conducted themselves. Barry Orton, writing over at Waxing America, has a good commentary about this:

...officer Michael Mansavage first missed Masel and instead peppersprayed his partner John McCaughtry, who was holding Masel by the arm at the time. Apparently, once McCaughtry and Mansavage had wrestled Masel into a face-down position on the ground, with McCaughtry's knee on Masel's back, Mansavage then peppersprayed Masel in the face. Mansavage also threatened to use a Taser on Masel for not putting his arm behind his back to be handcuffed fast enough, when the arm was, in fact, trapped under Masel's body.

The officers' descriptions of their actions made them look totally unprofessional, and strengthened Masel's claims. The multiple times both officers had to be taken through deposition statements that disagreed with their trial testimony didn't help either.

This seems like a pretty clear case, and one that will likely result in Masel eventually being awarded some serious damages. Several folks, including Orton, have pointed out that the city and police could have avoided the bad press and wallet-emptying had they conducted themselves properly in the first place. Taken along with all the recent Taser incidents and questions about how quick officers are to use them/how well they're trained with them, it's hard for folks not to feel some serious doubt about the very organization that's supposed to be protecting us and our civil liberties.

Former Madison police chief David Couper recently penned a thoughtful piece for The Daily Page that makes the call for better training, increased hiring standards, and creative thinking. It's well worth a read.

What do you think?

In the meantime, I'm going to be attempting to track Masel down for an interview about the case. If that goes well, it should be posted to dane101.com in the coming days, so be sure to check it out if you're interested.

Taking bike theft a bit more seriously

I recently wrote about how bike thieves go to the special hell, bemoaning the fact that anyone would up and steal someone's (non-polluting) mode of transportation and source of general good times. Another discussion that sprung up from that concerned how local police tend to deal (or don't) with bike thefts. In the comments section, Nataraj Hauser related one particularly troubling story:

It's not just bicycles, it's theft in general that MPD doesn't take seriously. When my motorcycle was stolen in September, the officer responding to my call flat out told me I'd probably never see my cycle again (a functional but absolutely unstunning Honda CB200, scarcely larger than a moped). The next spring I went to the police auction and lo and behold, there was my cycle, WITH MY CASE NUMBER WRITTEN ON THE SEAT. MPD had recovered the bike 24 hours after I reported it stolen, yet couldn't be bothered to TELL ME they had recovered it. Instead they were going to sell it at auction. If I were only slightly more cynical, I'd assume collusion. Lose a bike? Check the auction next spring.

The Capital Times today features an article detailing a new UW Police initiative that places "bait bikes" around campus, equipped with GPS devices, as a way of catching more thieves and, hopefully, deterring the crime all-together. Apparently, similar programs in other cities have produced positive results, so I will be interested to see how this one plays out.

Again, though, in the comments section someone asks if registering your bike with the city will improve your chances of getting it back. Another person responded, "I hear that if your bike is stolen and auctioned at a police auction, even though it was 'registered' and you recognize it as your bike, the police will still not give it back to you."

I certainly hope that's not true, but Hauser's story above seems to cast a serious shadow of doubt on that hope. The overall difficulty of recovering stolen bikes in the first place is understandable--there are a lot of bikes out there, and a lot of more pressing crimes to be sure--but if the police actually do find yours, especially if it's registered, shouldn't it follow that they make an at least passing attempt to get it back to you? Registration is actually legally required in Madison, including a fine for noncompliance. Are we actually getting anything for our dollars, though?

Another idea posited in the comments section of that article is that the fine associated with a bike theft conviction ought to be raised. It currently stands at $200, which, when compared to the price of most stolen bicycles, is hardly a drop in the bucket. If you stand to make $500 or more on the sale of a stolen bike, the threat of a $200 fine (if you get caught at all, which doesn't seem to happen much) must seem pretty paltry.

Clearly these are issues that require more follow-up, and I intend to track down some answers in the near future. But if you have any stories or information relating to this, please post them in the comments section. I'm deeply curious!

In the meantime, the article's advice on locking up your bikes is sound. I'm constantly amazed at how many bikes I see just left leaning against buildings around town, the owners presumably inside running a quick errand and apparently sure that the quick trip won't result in a stolen ride. Wrong. Bike thefts can happen in the blink of an eye, especially when you don't lock them up. So while we all work on better deterrents and punishments for the crime, be sure to at least do your part for prevention.