MADISON, Wis. — Three Madison police officers arrested over a two-week time span in November are still on nondisciplinary administrative leave and pending both criminal and internal investigations, Chief Shon Barnes said in an interview on Thursday.
Barnes’ words are the first he’s said publicly on the matter, commenting previously in written statements through spokespeople. On Thursday, Barnes addressed further why he’s not able to share more details about the cases, while they wait on the arresting agencies to finish their criminal investigations.
“We ask our officers to abide by the laws and regulations just like everyone else,” he noted. “And sometimes, that doesn’t happen.”
Policy violations that are not criminal may be investigated internally while a criminal investigation is pending, he noted. He did not specifically say whether policy violation investigations were ongoing, but noted that the department’s internal affairs were staying in “constant contact” with the agencies
“There’s certain rules that apply that the constitution gives us for anyone who is going through a criminal investigation; for example, the right to remain silent,” Barnes explained. “For us, we don’t have that. You come in to talk to us and our internal investigation, there is a compelled statement. So we like to allow the criminal investigation to play out, and then we do the internal investigation.”
Three Madison police officers were arrested in November in unrelated work incidents while all three were off duty; Madison police is not the investigating agency for any of the arrests. Officer Cary House is charged with felony strangulation, battery, and disorderly conduct with domestic abuse modifiers, Officer Keith Brown is charged with disorderly conduct for a physical fight with another woman, and a third officer is charged with a first offense OWI.
“Certainly, we want our officers to abide by the rules and regulations. We do understand that we recruit police officers from the human race, and from time to time we are people who make mistakes,” Barnes said. “We’re not special in that we don’t have a special set of rules for us, but there is a process that everyone is afforded.”
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