ASK THE CHIEF

If you have a question about police procedures, please contact us. Our job shouldn't be a mystery. Send your question to jacksonpd@sbcglobal.net.

Is it really against the law to drive without your shoes on?
No. As far as the motor vehicle code is concerned, you don't even need to be dressed (but don't do this since it is against the criminal code).

What does "local traffic only" mean when a road is closed?
According to the Wisconsin Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, "local traffic" means traffic originating within, or having a destination on, the portion of roadway that's closed to through traffic. Another way to put it is "trips that begin or end within the closed area". Local traffic doesn't mean that you live nearby or in the same community.

Can you drive without your license physically with you?
An officer is able to check your license status via computer. However, the officer may be suspicious because some revoked or suspended drivers will provide another person's name and birth date. This can't easily be done when the photo driver's license is present. This will get really dicey if you're driving someone else's vehicle. You can be cited for not having the license with you.

Does your department unlock car doors?
Yes.... and at no charge.

How is Falko doing?
Falko, our police K9, recovered from bone chip surgery and more recently an illness that caused acute kidney failure. Falko is working with Officer Fristed, and we expect Falko will retire in 2009.

Your officers were handing out parking tickets during the village-wide rummage sale. That wasn't a very friendly thing to do, considering the village invited us.
The rummage sale is not sponsored by the village of Jackson. However, the village certainly realizes that it's something that many residents and visitors look forward to every summer. The police department and the sponsor work together on such tasks as covering the No Parking signs on Main Street, putting out cones to keep some areas free of vehicles, and placing the Highway Department's sign board to encourage through-traffic to bypass the village to relieve some of the congestion. We also expend overtime funds for extra officers, due to the crush of vehicles and pedestrians.

However, this is still a community, not an amusement park for the sole enjoyment of rummage sale patrons. Many residents don't participate; they expect the courtesy of not having their driveways blocked. Intersections and narrow streets must be kept opened for rescue and fire equipment. Fire hydrants must not be blocked, nor should people drive on the wrong side of the street to grab a parking space. These are matters of common sense, courtesy and, yes, the law. To keep things in perspective, out of thousands of vehicles that crowded the village, only 22 parking tickets were issued.

I wanted help from the police to get property back from someone, but I was told it was a civil matter.
Unless it's a theft, we can not intervene when two parties have a dispute over ownership of property. Sometimes, we will stand-by and keep the peace when one person asks another for the property back. If the person refuses, the complainant must go to small claims court.

The Notable Incidents section always includes a lot of arrests for driving while suspended or revoked. Just how common is this problem and what are you doing about it?
Let me put it this way: make sure you have excellent uninsured motorists coverage on your insurance policy. DOT reports there are more than 50,000 revoked or suspended licenses out there. There are thousands more who are driving without a license of any kind, and haven't been caught yet. These people don't have insurance, so they have no financial resources if they crash into you. There's a good chance of that happening, since their bad driving was the reason they lost their license in the first place. All we can do is continue to arrest them. The legislature doesn't have the will or desire to confront this issue, and even if we could put them in jail (which isn't allowed for most of these case), the jails aren't big enough to hold all of these people.

Why do you ticket cars that are parked on the street on winter nights?
The village code has, for many years, prohibited parking from December 1 to April 1, 2:00AM-6:00AM. The Department of Public Works can plow snow much faster without vehicles parked on the street. As the village has grown, there are more "street miles" to plow, making this even more important. The police department issues hundreds of courtesy warnings a week before the ban takes effect. After December 1, a $10 ticket is issued.

I got arrested, and my name was in the newspaper. How do I keep that a secret?
You can't, and in most cases neither can we. Under state law, our incident reports are considered open to the public. There are exceptions, including reports that name juveniles, cases that remain under investigation, or if there is reason to believe that releasing the report would endanger a victim, witness, or informant. You may have noticed that the media carry news about juvenile offenders; the courts have allowed access to reporters with the understanding that identities can not be revealed.

Why do I see squads on Highway 45? Shouldn't they be in the village?
Highway 45 is in the village, but I understand what you're getting at: it's removed from the residential and commercial "heart" of Jackson proper.

Officers can choose to engage in traffic enforcement on Highway 45 for no more than an hour per shift. This permits a "change of pace" for the officer, allows a reasonable presence on the highway within our village limits, and supplements the presence of the state patrol and county sheriff. Sometimes an officer has stopped a vehicle that committed a violation on Main Street (Highway 60).

It's important to note, however, that a Jackson officer is often on the highway at the request of another law enforcement agency. Several times a week, we're asked to monitor the highway for a suspected drunk driver, a gas drive-off, shoplifting, or other vehicle that needs to be intercepted. These requests come from the county sheriff and surrounding police departments. We make similar requests of those agencies.

While some people question our presence on the highway, we also receive positive comments from drivers who are sick of being "blown off the road" by speeders.

What's With The Black Gloves?
A village resident was upset that an officer put on black leather gloves before arresting her son for outstanding warrants; this seemed to be a threatening gesture.

Some officers are wary of searching suspects without hand protection because of the risks of disease (hepatitis, HIV, TB) or being stuck by a sharp object such as a drug needle. They will don a pair of thin leather gloves, sometimes lined with Kevlar to prevent needle sticks. These should not be confused with "sap gloves", which contain powdered lead and are banned by police departments.

Our officers may not wear leather gloves routinely; they are put on in anticipation of a search, arrest, or other physical contact.

Who Can Drink Non-Alcoholic Beer?
Can someone under 21 drink NA beer?

Yes.... but. First of all, no one under the age of 21 can drink "light" alcohol beverages. A true NON-alcoholic beer has wording on the label that it contains less than 1/2% of alcohol by volume. That verbiage refers to federal guidelines- adopted by most states- that such a beverage isn't considered an alcohol drink. You would need to drink at least 12 cans in an hour to accumulate enough alcohol to reach the .08 threshold. Thus, it is legal in Wisconsin for anyone to purchase, possess and consume it.

Now here are the "buts". Persons under 21 are covered by the absolute sobriety law. There is still enough alcohol in a NA beer to be detected by a field screening device. If you are under 21, drank NA beer, drove, and then were stopped by the police, you could be arrested. Also, there is some evidence that suggests that drinking NA beer can lead to more serious alcohol consumption, and associated problems, later.

Also, although the sale of NA beer is not restricted, some retailers may still refuse to sell it to underage people. That's their decision.

In conclusion, if you're under 21 you can drink non-alcoholic beer (as defined above) as long as you do not drive while the alcohol is still in your system.

Searching a Vehicle
I was stopped for speeding, and was arrested when the officer discovered my license was revoked. After I was handcuffed and put in a squad, he searched my pickup truck. Didn't he need a warrant to do that?

No, he didn't. A vehicle can be searched subsequent to the arrest of anyone inside the vehicle. This includes the interior, including containers and glove compartments whether or not they're locked. All passengers and their jackets and purses can be searched.

Miranda Rights
On television, the police always read the suspect his rights as he's being handcuffed and taken away. But a friend of mine says that when he was stopped and arrested for drunk driving, he wasn't read his rights.

Ever since the Supreme Court crafted the Miranda warning in 1966, television programs have used it to add a little spice to their dramas. It's also confused millions of viewers.

The Miranda rights- the "you have the right to remain silent..." routine- are warnings that must be given when a person is in custody for a criminal offense and before the officer asks questions. When a TV detective handcuffs the bad guy and reads the Miranda rights as he's hauled away, it's drama. In real life, it isn't necessary to read Miranda until the arrested suspect is about to be questioned. That's why it's called a pre-interrogation warning.

What about the person who is stopped on suspicion of drunk driving? The officer will ask the driver various questions to establish how much the person has had to drink, where the person is coming from, how much sleep the person had, etc. The officer may ask the person to perform field sobriety tests, including blowing into a portable testing device. All of these things can incriminate the driver, so you might think Miranda should be given. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such a situation is a "roadside interrogation" in which the person is not in custody and doesn't have to be Mirandized. Once the driver is arrested, however, the questioning must stop until Miranda is read, and only then if the driver waives the right to remain silent.

The warning is named for Ernesto Miranda, who was arrested for the rape of a teenage girl in Phoenix. Miranda confessed after being interrogated for two hours. His conviction was thrown out when the Supreme Court ruled that he should have been advised that he had the right to remain silent, that any statements he made could be used against him, and that he had the right to an attorney even if he couldn't afford one. Miranda was scheduled for a new trial, but he angered his girlfriend during a child custody dispute and she revealed that Miranda confessed the rape to her. Ernesto stayed in prison for 14 years. Four years after he was released, Miranda was killed in a barroom brawl. The killer was given his Miranda rights.