Below is the latest press release from Menomonie Police Department regarding the trasnport of an individual:
Our agency believes it is important to be transparent and factual about the particular incident that was referenced in a letter drafted to Attorney General Josh Kaul by Eau Claire County Corporation Counsel and the Eau Claire City Attorney on January 13th, 2025.
On October 17th, 2024, a Menomonie Police Officer responded to a suspicion complaint where the subject was concerned some vehicles were following them. During the contact, the officer dealt with the subject’s concerns about the suspected vehicles. During the interaction with this individual, the officer believed the subject could have been experiencing some mental health related issues; however, the person was not experiencing a mental health emergency. This is not an uncommon situation in a patrol officer’s line of work and something where there are limited resources in dealing with someone where they are not a harm to themselves or others. It was also learned that the subject reportedly arrived in the Dunn County area from the Twin Cities region the previous day.
After the subject called the Dunn County Communications Center to report a complaint, a MPD officer spoke to the subject by phone and learned he was outside the city limits. A Dunn County Sheriff’s Deputy then located and transported the subject to the Love’s truck stop to meet with an MPD officer. During the interaction with the subject, it was learned that he was from another state and was transient at the time. The officer determined that the subject was willing to go to the homeless shelter in Eau Claire. Before transporting the subject, the officer called the Sojourner House in Eau Claire and verified that they would accept them that night. The officer then conducted a consensual search of the person’s belongings and outer clothing for contraband and/or weapons, which is common procedure. During that search, a very small zip-loc baggie was found that contained suspected cocaine residue. The officers on scene made the discretionary decision not to arrest the subject for only a residual substance. The officer then gave the subject a courtesy ride to the homeless shelter.
Our department was contacted by a member of the Eau Claire Police Department command staff several months ago and they explained their concerns to our agency about the incident. After reviewing the incident, an ECPD command staff member was contacted and it was explained that we were assisting the subject based on his wishes.
It is our position that the letter drafted to Attorney Kaul does not accurately reflect the circumstances around the transport of this individual. The situation was not custodial in nature and the subject was not transported against his will. To avoid any further discrepancy, our agency is releasing the details of the case, including the body and squad camera footage. To protect the identity of the subject that was involved in this complaint, any personal information or video that depicts him was redacted.
Our entire agency strives to treat the citizens, the surrounding community, and transient populations with dignity and respect. In this particular case, we feel our officer was using a resource to give a subject a warm place to stay for the night, while protecting the subject’s civil liberties. The subject was appreciative of a place to stay for the night and reiterated how cold he was the previous night. Our agency remains committed to working with our community partners and surrounding agencies to find solutions to issues impacting our region.
