Law Enforcement

n December 18 - An officer was investigating an OWI case at the Colby/Abby Police Department. During the investigation, the officer learned that two males who were 19 and 17 years old were drinking at a bar in the city of Abbotsford. Both males admitted to the officer that they were in the bar and were served alcohol. Both males said they were never asked for any identification. The 17-year-old male did not have any ID on him and the 19-year-old did not have any ID in his wallet. The 19-yearold had to dig a passport out of the glove box of the vehicle he was driving during the initial traffic stop.

On Thursday, December 22, the officer went to the bar and spoke to the owner of the bar. The officer explained that the minors were served alcohol in his bar. The owner said he did have other people tending bar besides himself and someone may have not checked IDs like they were supposed to. The officer reminded the man that anyone under the age of 21 is not allowed to be in the bar and anyone without ID proving their age cannot be served.

The officer said that Chief Bauer said any further violations will result in the loss of the liquor license for the bar. The owner said he understood and would speak to staff about the issue.

The bar owner was mailed two citations for selling alcohol to underage persons.

n December 20 - An officer was on patrol in Colby when he observed a vehicle traveling north with only one headlight lit. The officer initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle and made contact with the driver. While speaking to the driver, the officer noticed the strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The other officer responding to the incident asked the man where the marijuana was in the vehicle. The driver and passenger said there was none. The officers told the occupants they could smell marijuana but the duo again denied having any in the vehicle. The officer conducted a records check of the individuals which came back without any warrants and as having a valid driver’s license.

The officers had the individuals step out of the vehicle and searched the occupants. Nothing was found on their person. The officers then conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and found a blue smoking pipe with burned green, leafy substance in it in the driver door pocket. The officer then found a yellow grinder with a green, leafy substance inside in the center console and a Ziploc bag containing a green, leafy substance in the glove box.

The officers showed the duo what they had found and the driver said it was his.

Back at the police department, the officer tested the substances for THC. The substance tested positive and the driver was mailed citations for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

n December 20 - An officer was dispatched to an apartment complex in Abbotsford for a verbal disturbance in progress. The officer was en route when dispatch said a male party had left the scene in a vehicle. The officer went inside and met with a woman who was involved.

After about a minute of speaking with the woman, she pointed out the window and notified the officers that the man’s car was back outside. A second officer went outside to speak to the man. The officer made contact with the man who said there was no argument going on as he had just gotten home. The man said he was coming back from a friend’s house and again denied he was previously at home and got into an argument with the woman.

While speaking to the man, the officer noticed the strong odor of intoxicants coming from inside the vehicle. The man exited the vehicle and the officer conducted a weapons pat down of the man for the officer’s safety. The man then went inside and stood with a Clark County Deputy as the officers finished speaking with the woman.

While the other officer was speaking with the man, the woman told the original officer the argument did not become physical. During the conversation, the officer determined that a crime was not committed, but a verbal dispute was had. The woman said she could check to see if she could stay with a friend for the night. The officers then made phone contact with the man who agreed to perform field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test.

The officers went back to the man and initiated the tests and the breath test came back with a result of 0.133. The officer placed the man under arrest and transported him to the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department where he was issued citations for operating while under the influence, operating while suspended and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration. The man was then released to a responsible party.

n December 20 - An officer was dispatched to Abby County Market for a report of a traffic incident there. The officer arrived on-scene and met with the caller who said she was driving through the parking lot when a vehicle backed out quickly without looking and struck her vehicle in the passenger side front corner. The crash caused minor scuffs to the bumper and no injuries.

The caller said the car that hit her was occupied by two young females. They got out and spoke briefly with the caller. The caller said her phone was not working so she went into the store to call the crash in.

When the caller came out, the vehicle had left the parking lot. The woman said the driver of the other vehicle did not leave any information with her.

The officer took pictures of the vehicle and told the woman he would keep her posted if he located the striking vehicle and suspect. The officer reviewed camera footage and found that the suspect vehicle quickly backed out of its spot as the woman was driving by, causing the crash. The officer could see all occupants get out and briefly met before the woman went into the store.

The suspects got back into the car but were unable to leave due to being parked in by the woman and another vehicle in front of them. The vehicle in front of them eventually left and they drove straight out and out of the parking lot leaving south on Hwy. 13. The camera footage was not clear enough to read the license plate but the vehicle appeared to be a white, two-door car that would have minor damage to the rear passenger corner of the bumper.

The officer took pictures of the suspects in the store and will send them to other CAPD officers to see if anyone recognizes them.

n December 21 - An officer responded to an intersection in Abbotsford for a report of a vehicle that struck a mailbox.

Upon arrival, the officer met with a woman who said she had come to pick up her mother and had her car parked on a street facing north. The woman said that she had left her car running so it would stay warm. The woman said she went into her mother’s apartment and after awhile, noticed her car was gone. The woman said she went outside and noticed her car about half a block down on the opposite side of the road against some mailboxes.

The woman said when she went to the car, it was up against the mailboxes so she had to enter it through the passenger side door. The woman said the car was still in drive. The woman said she moved the car back to where she had originally parked it and saw that the plastic on the driver’s side mirror was broke. The woman said the only way she thought that could have happened is if someone got in her car and drove it into the mailboxes and left.

The officer photographed the woman’s car and went to inspect the mailboxes which displayed no damage. The officer photographed the damaged pieces that came from the woman’s car and said he would review camera footage and get back to the woman.

The officer got a hold of the maintenance worker for a building on the street and was able to view footage from that day. The officer could see that the woman’s car slowly goes north on the street and comes to a rest after hitting the mailboxes. The officer did not see anyone exit the vehicle. The officer then saw the woman get in the car on the passenger side and move it back to where it was originally parked.

The officer said it appeared in the video that the vehicle may have been left in drive when the woman initially exited it. The officer called the woman with the information he observed on camera. A crash report was not completed due to the damage not meeting the $1,000 requirement for a reportable accident.

n December 22 - An officer was dispatched to the Colby Travel Stop in reference to a minor traffic accident. Upon arrival, the officer met with a man who said he was traveling north in the left land of South Division St. and stopped at the stop light at the intersection of South Division St. and East Spence St. in Colby.

The man said when the traffic light turned green, he accelerated and the rear end of the semi trailer slid over and struck a trailer in the right lane of northbound traffic. The man said he stopped and spoke to the driver of the other truck. The man said there was no damage done to the other trailer. The caller got the other man’s information and a photo of the trailer for his records.

The caller’s trailer had the rear bumper on the passenger side bent in. The officer photographed the damage and documented the man’s information. The man did not believe that there was over $1,000 in damages to his trailer. The officer stated he would complete a basic report in case the man’s company needed it.

n December 25 - An officer was parked in the city of Abbotsford and observed an SUV stuck in a snowbank off of the roadway on Birch Street. After a few minutes of trying, the vehicle was able to get out of the snow bank and onto the roadway and turned northbound on Hwy. 13. The officer observed the vehicle take a wide turn causing it to almost hit the curb. The officer followed the vehicle and ran the license plate through the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The results showed the owner of the vehicle did not have a driver’s license issued. The officer initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle and made contact with the driver.

While speaking to the driver, the officer noticed the strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and observed a bottle of beer in the center cup holder as well as two bottles on the floor behind the passenger seat. When asked, the man said he had two beers to drink.

The officer asked the man if he would be willing to ride with the officer back to the police department to perform some tests because of the below zero temperatures.

The man agreed and warned the officer that he had urinated on himself before the officer frisked him. The officer performed the frisk of the man’s person and did not find any items of interest. The man was then transported to the Colby/Abbotsford Police Department where he performed standardized field sobriety tests.

After the tests, the man agreed to and was administered a preliminary breath test. The result of the test was 0.312.

The officer placed the man under arrest and issued him citations for operating while under the influence, operating without a valid license and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration greater than .15.

The man was then transported to his residence and was released to a responsible party.

n December 26 - An officer was traveling in the city of Colby when he noticed an object hanging from the mirror of a vehicle he was driving next to. The object was obstructing the driver’s view so a traffic stop was initiated by the officer.

The officer made contact with the driver and asked if he had a driver’s license or proof of insurance on the vehicle. The man stated he did not have a driver’s license or insurance. The officer then confirmed what the driver had said with dispatch and went back to talk to the driver. The officer noticed the man had several open bottles and cans of beer in the vehicle.

The officer asked if he had any alcohol tonight and the man said he did not. The man agreed to do the field sobriety tests and a Clark County K9 deputy arrived on scene. K9 Arthur was deployed to the vehicle and alerted to a controlled substance. The officer had the man step out of the vehicle and nothing was found on the man’s person. The officer then put the man through the field sobriety test and did not observe any clues to arrest the man for operating while under the influence.

The vehicle was then searched and the officers located a clear bag with a green, leafy substance at the bottom in the driver’s side door. Another clear bag was found in the driver’s side door that had the same green, leafy substance located in the bottom of it.

The officer observed the steering wheel to have a black rag on top of it which appeared to be holding the air bag inside of the steering wheel. It appeared he had crashed the vehicle which initiated the airbag deployment. The officer also observed the passenger dash to have the air bags deployed already as the air bag was outside of its compartment.

The officer asked the man if the marijuana in the vehicle belonged to him. The man said it did and he was informed by the officer that he cannot drive the vehicle due to the air bags being deployed. The officer said the air bags would have to be fixed before he could drive the vehicle again. The officer informed the man he would be having the vehicle towed and gave the man a ride to his home.

The officer tested the substance in the bags for marijuana which came back positive. The officer issued and explained a citation for operating while suspended, operating a motor vehicle without insurance and a warning for obstruction of driver’s view. The officer will also be mailing the man a citation for possession of marijuana and for concealing a deployed air bag and having open intoxicants inside of a motor vehicle.