Courts
Police study group in La Crosse County preparing a report on local law enforcement
The 2020 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis led to many protests around the country, including in La Crosse.
Calls for more transparency about police activity prompted La Crosse County to form a study committee on policing, and that committee could make a report soon to the county board.
Committee chair Tara Johnson says her study group includes several representatives of groups that have had bad experiences with law enforcement. She says that applies to “populations, citizen groups who have historically and presently, you know, current day feel threatened or targeted or mistreated or unheard by police.”
Johnson’s panel also includes the La Crosse County sheriff and the police chiefs of La Crosse and Onalaska.
Johnson describes some possible goals of such a long-term committee: “Fairness and equal treatment and transparency, accountability in the policing work that is done in our communities.” She predicts that her panel could make a report to county officials in April.