Law Enforcement
_ May 2 - Officers spoke to an Abbotsford woman who wanted to report a harassment complaint. The complainant said she had received a text message from a male acquaintance who said he was being chased by several people with baseball bats in their hands. She then stepped outside her residence and saw four individuals walking toward her with baseball bats in their hands. They were yelling at her and making references to a rape allegation. The complainant said one of the female parties got in her face and tried to hit her. She said another female party stepped in between them to break up the argument. She noted that one of the male parties in the group had a nocontact order against him stemming from a domestic abuse case.
The officers attempted to make contact with those involved in the incident. One of them said she was on her way to Wausau to visit a friend in the hospital. She agreed to meet the following day. As they were knocking on doors, trying to locate the other suspects, they noticed a white car that kept turning around when the driver saw the police squads. One of the officers pulled the vehicle over and met with the suspect who had said she was on her way to Wausau. She apologized for lying and said she did not want to get in trouble. She said she was the one who got between the complainant and another female suspect to prevent a fight.
An officer also spoke to the female suspect who had allegedly tried to fight the complainant. She admitted to yelling at the complainant and getting close to her, but she said it was the complainant who looked like she wanted to fight. The suspect said she eventually walked away.
The suspect’s vehicle smelled like marijuana, so a search was done that uncovered a vape cartridge containing THC, the active chemical in marijuana. One of the suspects was cited for disorderly conduct and another was cited for obstructing an officer and possession of marijuana.
_ May 3 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby residence in reference to a possible domestic disturbance after a neighbor reported hearing yelling and banging. When the officer arrived, he met with a man who was fixing a child’s bike in the driveway. The officer informed him of the complaint, and the man said he had been yelling at their dog, which was tied up, to stop barking. A female party came out of the house and also said they had been yelling at their dog. The officer did not notice any signs of a disturbance.
The officer ran the man’s name through dispatch and he came back as having four arrest warrants, including two through Marathon County, one through Clark County and one through LaCrosse County. The charges ranged from driving with a revoked license to felony bail jumping and failure to appear in court. He was arrested and taken to Clark County Jail.
_ May 3 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford store in reference to a verbal fight. The officer met with a man holding a child outside the store. When asked what happened, he said that he and his girlfriend got into an argument, and she kicked him out of her car. He said his girlfriend was not allowed to have sole custody of their child, so he took the child with him. He confirmed that nothing physical happened during the argument and said he had already called his father for a ride. The officer also spoke to the girlfriend over the phone, and she confirmed that nothing physical happened during the argument.
_ May 4 - An officer was refueling his squad vehicle at a local gas station when he recognized a male party from previous law enforcement contacts. The officer ran the man’s name through dispatch, and he came back as having three active warrants out of Clark County for failure to pay traffic citations. The officer met with the subject and told him about the warrants. He did not have the $601.50 available to post the total bond amounts, so he was taken into custody and transported to Clark County Jail.
_ May 4 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby store in reference to a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot. The business owner said the vehicle was left there with the rear driver’s side door open. No one was inside. He checked around the property and did not see anyone. The offi cer used the vehicle’s license plate to identify the owner and call her. The woman said her family had an event to go to, so they left the vehicle in the parking lot. She was told about the open door. She said they had taken their child out of the backseat and must have forgotten to close the door. All of the vehicle’s doors were locked, so the officer closed the open door to make sure it was secure.
_ May 5 - An officer was on patrol in Colby when he noticed the gate open at a local business. The officer called for backup, and when a Clark County deputy arrived, they searched the building and made sure nothing looked out of order. Before leaving, the officer closed the gate and made the sure the padlock was locked.
_ May 5 - An officer was on patrol in Abbotsford when he turned from Spruce Street onto North First Street. He noticed a vehicle half-parked in a parking space, with the rear end obstructing northbound traffic. The front bumper was about five yards out from the curb. The officer pulled into a spot near the vehicle and located a male individual inside.
The officer could immediately smell alcohol when the driver rolled down his window. The driver said he was waiting for his cousin. The officer saw an open beer can in the front cup holder. When asked how much he had to drink, the driver said “one.” The officer also noticed two empty beer cans on the front passenger’s side seat. The driver continued to insist that he had only one beer. While walking back to his squad, the officer noticed another empty beer can in the back seat.
A short time later, another male subject crossed the street and headed toward the vehicle. The man told the officer that the driver was supposed to pick him up from work. The officer had him wait in the front passenger’s seat of the car while the driver did field sobriety tests.
The driver showed several signs of intoxication while doing the tests. He refused to submit to a preliminary breath test. He was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and taken to the police station. The vehicle was moved into a proper parking spot. At the station, the driver registered a .15 blood-alcohol level on the breathalyzer. He was cited for drunk driving and released to a sober party.
_ May 5 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford residence in reference to an animal complaint. He met with a woman who said their neighbor’s dog got loose and turned up at their rear steps. The complainant said they’ve had an ongoing issue with the dog barking.
The officer went next door and spoke to the neighbor. She admitted the dog had gotten loose. She said that doesn’t normally happen if someone is with the dog. The officer advised her to make sure someone was outside with the dog whenever it was tied up. He issued her a citation for allowing a dog to run at large.
_ May 6 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford residence in reference to a criminal property damage complaint. The officer met with the homeowner, who said someone from the next-door apartments had driven through this yard, leaving ruts in the grass. A red Dodge Durango drove by, and a neighbor from across the street came outside and said that was the vehicle that had driven on the complainant’s lawn. The neighbor said she would be willing to write a statement describing what she had seen.
While the officer was getting statements, a man from the next-door apartments came over and said it was his son who had driven across the complainant’s property. He said there were kids playing in their parking lot, so his son decided to drive across the yard instead. As the officer was talking to the father, the Durango returned to the scene. The officer walked over to it and told the driver to pull over. The driver denied driving through the complainant’s yard, even after he was presented with his father’s statements implicating him.
The officer ran the driver’s name through dispatch, and he came back as having a suspended driver’s license. He was issued citations for driving while suspended and criminal damage to property. As the officer was leaving, a woman came over to the officer and told him that it was the driver’s father who actually drove through the yard. The officer confronted the son about this, and wondered why he would accept a citation for something he didn’t actually do. The son just kept saying he would take the citation. The son, along with the female witness, eventually convinced the father to accept the citation. The original citation was voided, and another one was issued to the father. The officer told the father to stop driving on people’s lawns.
_ May 7 - An officer was at the police station when he heard what sounded like a cat meowing outside. The noise went on for about five minutes, so the officer went outside to see what it was. He encountered a man who was staring into one of the squad cars while holding several half-empty beer bottles. He was swaying from side to side and appeared to be heavily intoxicated. The officer asked him what he was up to. The man mumbled something, dropped a couple of his beers and started walking toward the officer. The officer took the beer bottles away and escorted the man into the police station. The man said he was trying to walk home from his friend’s house. He was unable to provide his home address, but a translator working for the department provided the correct address.
The man was given a ride home and released to his brother. He was cited for consuming alcohol outside.
_ May 7 - An officer was dispatched to Community Drive in Colby in reference to a couple of children playing in the middle of the road. The officer arrived on the scene and met with two young children walking along the side of the road. The officer asked them where they live, and one of them said “far away.” He also asked their names, but only one of them responded. The other one was crying and saying he scraped his hand when he fell on the ground. When asked their mother’s name, they just said “momma.”
As the officer was talking to them, a woman came running down the street, and the two boys ran to her. The woman said she was babysitting for her brother and the children must have snuck out of the house. She said they lived just around the corner. The two boys returned home with their babysitter.
