On April 30^th, 2016, Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 held the first of two bi-annual Drug Drop Off events at five locations in Sheboygan County.  The events occurred in Sheboygan, Random Lake, Plymouth, Oostburg and Howards Grove.  Law enforcement along with members of Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 manned the five sites.    Sheboygan County residents disposed of approximately 452 pounds of prescription narcotics.

“The support of the community in disposing of unneeded and expired prescription narcotics is an important component of combating prescription pill abuse”, Capt. Veeser.

“Each event held results in larger amounts of prescription narcotics being properly disposed of and demonstrates that residents want to do their part concerning this national mental health issue”, Capt. Veeser.

Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 plans on holding the second Drug Drop Off event in the Fall of 2016.  Support from the Acuity donation assists in holding the event at various locations.     

On April 30^th, 2016 between 10 AM and 1 PM, five locations will be available for residents of Sheboygan County to participate in the statewide Drug Take Back campaign.

 As part of the “Dose of Reality” campaign to reduce prescription drug abuse, Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 has organized sites to collect prescription medications.

  Deaths and hospitalizations from overdoses are increasing, and four out of five heroin addicts start by abusing prescription painkillers. In the words of Attorney General Brad Schimel, prescription painkiller abuse is a “public health crisis in Wisconsin.”

 The Drug Take Back campaign conducted in Sheboygan County in October of 2016 resulted in approximately 400 pounds of prescription medication being properly destroyed. 

 The sites for disposing of medication are:

 Generations – 1500 Douglas Dr., Plymouth

 HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital, 3100 Superior Avenue, Sheboygan

Random Lake Fire Department, 718 Spring St. Random Lake

Oostburg Municipal Building, 1140 Minnesota Avenue, Oostburg

Howards Grove Village Hall, 913 S. Wisconsin Dr., Howards Grove

Participants are asked to cross out any identifying information on bottles along with liquids needing to be in bottles and then placed in plastic bags prior to dropping off at a site.

 Area law enforcement agencies still have permanent drug drop sites that can be used year round.

On March 21st, 2016, area law enforcement gathered to train and supply officers countywide with Naloxone. The ability to have this potential lifesaving tool in the hands of law enforcement is due to financial assistance provided by Acuity along with training by the Aurora Medical Center.

Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, is a tool to reverse opioid overdoses in the field and provide lifesaving assistance. Opioids cause death by slowing, and eventually stopping, the person’s breathing. When administered, Naloxone restores breathing within two to five minutes, preventing brain injury and death. Naloxone has the potential to reverse overdoses caused by opioids, which includes prescription painkillers and street drugs like heroin.

Area law enforcement plan to train approximately 185 officers and have the supplies located in approximately 70 patrol vehicles.

“One of the goals since receiving funds from the Acuity Foundation is to provide lifesaving assistance on scene of an overdose”, stated Capt. Veeser, “being able to assist a person in a time of crisis, potentially save their life, and then steer them towards treatment prevents the unnecessary loss of someone’s loved one”.

Law enforcement is working to complete training over the next several weeks.

On 02-17-16, at 7:14 pm, Sheboygan Police and Fire Departments responded to the area of Lakeshore Road and Pine Bluff Dr. reference a possible head on vehicle crash.

Upon arrival, emergency personnel found the operator of a 2002 Ford F150 trapped inside of his vehicle. Emergency personnel were able to extricate the driver from the vehicle.

Officers investigating the crash determined that the driver of the 2002 Ford F150 had rear ended a 1999 Chevrolet Van that had been parked on Lakeshore Road. The parked vehicle was spun almost completely around, coming to rest on the east side of Lakeshore Road. The Ford F150 also spun around, crossing the center line and coming to rest on the west side of Lakeshore Road.

The operator of the Ford F150, a 48 year old Sheboygan man, was treated for minor injuries at Memorial Medical Center and later released into police custody and taken to the Sheboygan County Detention Center. The man was cited for criminal operating under the influence/7th offense, criminal operating after revocation, failure to maintain control of vehicle and an ordinance charge of disorderly conduct.

On, Sunday,  2/14/16, at 8:33 PM, the Sheboygan Police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Citgo, 610 S. 14th Street in Sheboygan. According to the investigation, a male white, approximately 5’8 with a medium build, wearing dark shoes, gloves, jeans, and a dark jacket over another hooded top entered the store and displayed a handgun to the clerk before demanding cash and other items. The suspect concealed the bottom portion of his face with a cold weather style face mask. The suspect then left the area in a SUV style vehicle with shiny rims. Citizens are encouraged to view surveillance video of the incident. The Sheboygan Police Department is encouraging anyone with any information regarding this case to contact the Sheboygan Police Department at (920) 459–3333.

 

The Sheboygan Police Department has received numerous phone calls regarding a telephone scam. The subjects call posing as the IRS demanding that the victim pay a bogus tax bill. They may ask the victim to send money via a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may also leave “urgent” call back requests on the phone. The IRS will not call you to demand immediate payment, require that you pay your taxes a certain way, or ask for any credit/debit card numbers over the phone. These scammers may even threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying. If you receive such a call, do not give them any information and simply hang up. If you know or think you owe money to the IRS, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

12/03/2015 at 9:19 pm Sheboygan Police officers were dispatched to the Clark gas station at 2709 N 15th St for an armed robbery. Several officers arrived in a short period of time and located a suspect fleeing the area. After a short foot pursuit the suspect was taken into custody without further incident. Anyone with additional information about this incident is asked to contact the Sheboygan Police Department.

To combat drunken driving, nine law enforcement agencies in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties will team up for a new High-Visibility Education and Enforcement (HVEE) Task Force with the first deployment scheduled for Sunday, November 22nd, 2015. Subsequent deployments will be held on Wednesday, November 25th, and Sunday, December 13th, 2015.

The participating law enforcement agencies are:

Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department
Manitowoc Police Department
Two Rivers Police Department
Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department
Sheboygan Police Department
Elkhart Lake Police Department
Kohler Police Department
Plymouth Police Department
Wisconsin State Patrol

The agencies will be putting more officers on patrol for longer hours to stop, test and arrest drunken drivers. However, the HVEE Task force’s goal is to keep people from getting behind the wheel while impaired—not to make more arrests. Therefore, the task force also will focus on education and outreach in their local communities to convince people that drunken driving is prevalent, deadly and entirely preventable.

The HVEE Task Force’s education and outreach efforts will include distributing posters and coasters with drive sober messages to local bars and restaurants. The task force also will promote alternative transportation options, emphasize the importance of designating a sober driver, and encourage use of the free Drive Sober Mobile App available at: zeroinwisconsin.gov. The task force will reach out to businesses and organizations to help spread the lifesaving message of the serious consequences of impaired driving. Law enforcement agencies will use their local news media and social media to publicize their deployments in advance as a deterrent to drunken driving.

Federal funding for task force officers’ overtime enforcement will be provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Safety.

The HVEE initiative to improve traffic safety is part of a pilot program under the Drive to Save Lives Campaign created by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Governors’ Highway Safety Association. In addition to the HVEE task force in the two Wisconsin counties, pilot projects will be implemented in Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina.

The Drive to Save Lives Campaign is a targeted approach to traffic safety that focuses on implementing data-driven approaches to traffic safety and traffic incident management; enforcing speed limits, seat belt use, impairment violations, distracted driving, and other highly visible driver behaviors; actively responding to unsafe driving behaviors by operators of motorcycles and large trucks and buses; and, educating motorists about the importance of practicing safe driving.

We are pleased to announce the newest member of the Sheboygan Police Department, Officer Anna Taylor. Officer Taylor is a Sheboygan County native, graduating from Oostburg High School and Lakeshore Technical College. Officer Taylor was a member of the City of Raleigh Police Department in North Carolina for six years before coming to Sheboygan. She will spend several weeks with field training officers before beginning full time patrol duties.

Over the last several months the Sheboygan Police Department has investigated a number of damage to property complaints involving BB guns. Several arrests have been made in these cases, which involved residential windows and vehicles being damaged by intentional discharge of a BB gun. Police have also assisted school authorities when a juvenile brought a BB gun to school and investigated cases in which individuals were injured and later treated after being struck by a BB gun pellet.

The Police Department is asking for help from the public to address this problem.

• Parents, if your children own BB guns, please closely scrutinize how and where they are being used. Keep in mind it is illegal to discharge air powered guns anywhere within the city (Municipal Code §70-256). It is strongly recommended that parents maintain possession and control of the BB guns.

• If you see CO2 cartridges or loose BBs in your child’s possession, they may also have a BB gun you’re not aware of. In addition to the damage to property complaints, we’ve also investigated numerous thefts of BB guns from local retailers.

• If anyone sees suspicious activity, they should call the police. It’s not uncommon for the key break in an investigation to come in the form of a tip from an alert citizen. Some things to look out for include:

o Unfamiliar vehicles parked in the neighborhood
o Unfamiliar people loitering around the neighborhood
o People walking through areas that are not typically pedestrian thoroughfares, especially at night

In addition to damaging property and causing personal injury, BB guns can cause other unintended consequences. Every year facsimile firearms look more and more like the real thing. There are any number of potential encounters where a person may be carrying a BB gun and it is mistaken for an actual firearm. This can result in heartbreaking tragedy which is easily preventable.

Please take the time to consider the pros and cons of owning BB guns. Our goal at the Police Department is to ensure a safe community where people are free from being victimized. With the public’s help we can change the recent trend of problems caused by BB guns. Thank you.