Police matters

The "new sheriff" in town

Well, have you heard the buzz? Apparently the “word on the street” - or so I'm told - is that the mayor and/or the council wants to dismantle the Chetek Police Department now that Chief Petersen has left the building. In response to that rumor allow me to quote a much repeated Jase Robertson line from the Duck Dynasty reality TV series: “Let me put it to you in Spanish: No.” But here's what is true: As of January 7, Chief Mark Petersen is now officially retired after thirty-five years of service to our city. Last fall, the Chief went on leave of absence to have his shoulder surgically repaired and at that time, by ordinance, Lieutenant Ron Ambrozaitis became acting chief. At last week's monthly council meeting, the council went into closed session to discuss the status of Officer Ambrozaitis. Mainly, do we heed his predecessor's endorsement and promote him on the spot or do we open up the position and begin the interviewing process but certainly allowing him the opportunity to apply? Honestly, we kicked this matter around a long time as all of us are keenly aware of how important a position the chief's job really is.

After all, we need a chief who can enforce the law and competently oversee the department as well as make nice with the public he has vowed to serve and protect (competence and congeniality do not always go together). I think I speak for the council when I say we want a top cop who ensures that the bad guys get rounded up but at the same time knows how to have a cup of coffee and chew the fat with the locals. We need a chief who can assist the school, if called upon, to deal with a disciplinary matter but also is proactive in building a rapport with the student body. Maybe Ron's that guy. He certainly is very personable and affable. But at the present time the council's decision is to insist on a six-month probationary period in order to give us time to evaluate him fairly. This will require us to set some clear benchmarks by which we can adequately grade his performance in areas of, say, administration, personnel management, city council and community relations and so forth. At the end of this six-month period than the council has to either “pay up and shut up” or move on and open the position to other candidates.

Now to the story about County coming in and taking over our PD, here's what happened: Just before Christmas, Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald and I had an informal discussion about the possibility of him getting on the agenda of a city council meeting and pitching his idea of just such an arrangement. So instead of having a Chetek Police Department, the County would now supply the squads, the personnel, the equipment – everything. They would have designated officers that were assigned to Chetek but their cars would not carry the City of Lakes decal. I'm a firm believer that knowledge in and of itself never hurt anyone. So I discussed this with council as well and we concurred that in the interest of becoming educated, Sheriff Fitzgerald will speak at the monthly council meeting held on February 9^th. I'm sure a lot of you will want to be there. Personally, I don't think he has a prayer of persuading any of us to move in that direction but, again, it doesn't hurt to hear what he has to say.

So now you know pretty much what I know. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, the members of the Chetek PD continue to protect and serve as they always have. And we're grateful that they're out there and ready and able to respond when called upon.