Tom Tiffany hosts public safety round table in Hudson

By: Hannah Coyle

U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 7th District Tom Tiffany invited area public safety professionals to a round table discussion in Hudson on Tuesday, April 25. 

In attendance were Hudson Chief of Police Geoff Willems, Hudson Lieutenant Jason Muenich, Hudson Patrol Sergeant Brad Kusmirek, St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson and New Richmond Chief of Police Craig Yehlik, among other area sheriff’s, chiefs and district attorney’s. 

Tiffany provided a brief update on some of the work he and his colleagues are doing in Washington, D.C. to support law enforcement, including taking a strong stance in support of qualified immunity, school safety support and mental health bills. 

He then invited those sitting around him to offer “on-the-ground” requests for how those in D.C. can better support local public safety. 

Tiffany will take what he heard from the men at the table back to the east coast. 

There were three resounding topics that dominated conversation – hiring and retention, drugs and mental health. 

Hiring and retention

It’s no secret that in St. Croix County the district attorney’s office has been struggling to hire a full staff. Assistant district attorneys are hired and funded through the state, so the county has little power in increasing the low wages of litigators. 

Though St. Croix County District Attorney Karl Anderson was not able to attend, the issue was brought up by Polk County District Attorney Jeffrey Kemp, who was present. Colleagues in many counties are facing the same issue. 

For law enforcement offices, it’s not just pay, but morale that seems to be keeping candidates away from the job. 

“It’s a real problem getting them in the pipeline,” Tiffany said. 

Police academies are seeing declining enrollment, offers said. It boils down to the pay and the image of police. Many of the sheriffs and chiefs did note that in their rural areas of Wisconsin, the support for law enforcement is strong and officers feel it. 

Drugs

Each officer could have their own chapter book on the fentanyl related incidents they have dealt with over the last few years. 

“It’s hitting home with everybody,” one representative said. 

Securing the U.S.-Mexico border seemed to be the answer to Tiffany, and that’s what many of the officers asked him to work on to support the Wisconsin communities. 

Though the southern border is a country away from many Wisconsin communities, it has shown up on the doorstep of Sawyer County Sheriff Doug Mrotek. He shared a story about a bust his department made. They recovered a block of drugs with a Mexican cartel stamp on it. 

Across the board, fentanyl was the number one concern. Law enforcement is finding it in heroin, meth and marijuana, especially over the last two years. 

Deaths have skyrocketed. 

“Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 

In St. Croix County in 2022, law enforcement seized 144 grams of fentanyl. This year so far, they’ve seized 210 grams. 

It only takes 2 milligrams to kill a person. 

The amount of fentanyl recovered could have killed the entire population of the county – over 95,000 people, according to Knudson. 

Mental health

People suffering from mental health crises don’t belong in jail, but right now, it’s hard for many law enforcement agencies in the area to place them anywhere else. 

Care facilities are just not readily available.

Law enforcement has struggled to coordinate with existing health care institutions due to HIPPA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal law that protects sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge.  

The ask of Tiffany was for representatives to create incentives for heath care institutions to establish more robust mental health care programs. This way, there is a clear and safe path for people struggling with mental health to receive care, not just when they’ve encountered law enforcement or the court system. 

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