I moved here to Rice Lake, WI about five years ago and noticed right away that the police in this little NW WI town are what I call OD BLUE. A few months after moving here I was on Main St. Riding my 1997 Kaw. On and off rd. Motorcycle and I was waved into a parking lot by a young man who wanted a closer look at my cycle.
I pulled up and parked about a foot from the entrance facing toward the street and turned the bike off and chatted with him for a few about the bike and him going into police work. At the time I had six credits left to finish my police science degree and I just told him to be a good cop and not let it go to his head like some I had met while going to college. Some kids pulled up then and I decided to leave and started the bike and pulled out going south down Main.
Right away the blue lights came on behind me and I pulled over by the bridge and waited for the officer to come up to me. I asked why he pulled me over and he said I did not turn my headlight on, I laughed and said ya right, look, on, off, on, off, turning the key on and off, turns the lights on and off. There is not a light switch, the lights come on when the key is turned on. I said to him sir I know I have done nothing wrong, I just took a traffic law class and know I have done nothing wrong. He said come with me I will show you, we got into the front of the car and he paged through his statute book and wrote me a ticket for failure to yield when exiting a private drive or alleyway.
I told him if he could not see my light on how could he see if I had stopped or not. When I started my bike I was one foot from the sidewalk, so, should I stop again? I told him I knew why I was pulled over and that he was just checking me out be cause I was a stranger in town talking to a young man. He did not answer me. At the time I had a FL license and was required to post bond on the ticket so I told him I rented from a local Deputy and I needed to go home and get the money and would meet him at the PD. When I arrived at the PD I started to write a check and stated that when I finished writing it I wanted a complaint form because I was going to file a complaint on the office for pulling me over without cause and that I felt I was being harrased and I was not going to be treated like that and it was bullshit.
Then one of the officers come accross the room and yelled at me saying I couldn't talk like that and I told him this is a free country and I'll talk any way I want to. Before I had a chance to finish writing a check they told me I had to post cash so I said, well then I need to go to an ATM and get the cash and when I get back I am going to fill out a complaint form. I then exited the bldg. And was followed by the officer that pulled me over and when I got on my bike he said well Mr. Hauser if you had not been so sarcastic with me over the headlight I would not have written you that ticket.
And I said, fine, when we go to court, and we are going to court, you tell the judge that. I then went and got the money and came back to the PD and the only one there was a yound dispatcher so I paid the bond and asked for the complaint form and he advised me that I could not file a complaint and I needed to talk to the chief on Monday, this was a Sat. Night about 10p. I then went back to my bike and went back out on the Main St. And noticed that my mirror was loose, so I pulled into the Burger King and opened my seat to get my tools and fix the mirror and some kid come up asking about my bike again.
The next thing I know, three police cars pulled up and they all jumped out of their cars and the one that yelled at me, said to the one that pulled me over earlier, twice in one night aye. They were going to give me a ticket for loitering in the BK parking lot. I then went off on them telling them I was fixing my mirror and now they were harrassing me and I would sue them if I was not left alone. They talked to the kid that came up when I was fixing the mirror and then they did a little huddle then decided they were going to leave.
Monday, I dressed in a suit and tie and went and spoke with the chief. After making a comment about my lifestyle, meaning motorcycling at 10pm at night, I was finaly handed a blank piece of typing paper to write a complaint on. I asked him if they had an official complaint form and he said they did not. I said ya right and this paper will be round filed right after I leave so whats the use in filling it. I relized then I would get no where with this Rice Lake Police Chief.
OK, my first court date for the ticket arrives, I sit through all of the other cases waiting for my name and it does not get called I am the last one in the room. The judge says to me, who are you? I tell him my name and hold up my ticket and tell him I am there to plead Not Guilty and that I was harrased by the police. He sai well your not on the docket sit here I will be right back. I waited, he comes back and tells me I paid the ticket, I said no I did not I posted because I had an out of state license at the time and I had to post the bond.
This judge started to chew me out stating if he sets up a court time I better not waste the cities time and not show up. I said sir, I was harrased and I am here now and I will be here then so set me a court date. OK, so the new court date comes and when I get to the PD, I noticed the young man that was in the parking lot before I was pulled over was there, and his friend. He comes up to me saying he was sorry he had to come to court but he was called, I said thats fine, just tell the truth.
So the City Attorney called each one of the boys in his office and talks with them. I am waiting outside the court rm. And its after my court time and no one is in that rm. The attorney comes out and tells me to step in the courtroom and he says to me, we feel that officer that pulled you over was having a bad day and they were going to dismiss the ticket! I said what about my wasted time and me having several bad days, that dude started to chew me out too. So I turned my back and left.
Do you think thats the end of it??? NO. One yr later I get a new MC and went to get insurance and what do you think shows up on my driving record that fn dismissed ticket. I had to call the city clerk and give her shit and what do I get from her??? Oh, were only human. Shit. I have since saw these local officers driving to fast many times heard them on the radio, I have a scanner, pull over and harrass people left and right.
So if your ever in Rice Lake, WI be careful of these OD Police officers here. PS, I received a AAS Degree in Police Science in the spring of 2001. So I know how to be a good and fair police officer.
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