Police in Madison are beefing up security around the state Capitol after a warning from the FBI earlier this week, in anticipation of right-wing protests in Madison and beyond. The memo warned of possible armed protests at state capitals in the days around President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next Wednesday — continued fall-out from President Trump’s […]
In 2020, MPD deployed chemical weapons in record amounts
The Madison Police Department deployed more tear gas during Black Lives Matter protests in late May and early June than they did in the prior 16 years combined. Over just three days and nights from May 30th to June 1st, officers deployed 62 clouds of tear gas: 53 canisters of tear gas thrown by hand […]
Four finalists announced for new Madison Police Chief
Since September of last year, Vic Wahl has served as Madison’s interim Chief of Police while the city has hunted for its new top police officer. Wahl was thrust into that position after former Police Chief Mike Koval abruptly resigned from the position with a one-day notice. Now, Wahl is ready to hang up his […]
City Council punts ban on tear gas
Speaking on the very first first night of protests in Madison in May, Interim Police Chief Vic Wahl said that the department’s use of tear gas was their best method for dispersing or moving a crowd — even during a pandemic. Exposure to tear gas, and to pepper spray, can cause burning and teary eyes, […]
Give Your Comment on the Search for the Next Madison Chief of Police
(Photo credit: Brian Standing, WORT News) In a time when decisions over power, police, and policing are even more closely examined, WORT will host a discussion with a decision-maker in charge of the hiring, firing, and discipline over Madison’s Police and Fire Departments. The Madison Police and Fire Commission, or PFC, is a five-member board […]
City Finance Committee pauses vote on 1033 program
The Federal 1033 program allows police departments to purchase surplus equipment from the Department of Defense. Critics say it’s helped militarize police departments across the nation since then. “Beginning in the nineties, there was this ramping up of the idea that police were waging a war on crime. And one of the ways this war […]
