Cases of use of force against police rose dramatically and cocaine seizures are up, in the latest Chippewa Falls Police Department report, even as the department works with less staff.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Ryan Douglas told The Chippewa Herald on Wednesday the department's 2023 annual report is an important way for the department to show transparency and give the community a snapshot of the police department.
He said it also demonstrates the time and the effort officers put into protecting the community.
Chippewa Falls Police Department officers and investigators stand outside of 120 W. Spruce St. after an incident in October of 2023 which resulted in a shelter in place order for parts of the city.
“We can kind of display what goes into the officers that we have working here, into their jobs and their lives as PD. It also shows the officers what we value, the behavior that we value and the expectations that we have,” he said.
Douglas said while the number of calls for service remains relatively consistent over the last few years, the department is meeting city demands with fewer officers than it would prefer to have on staff.
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Calls vs. staff
The department took 10,757 calls for service in 2023, which is similar to prior years but the numbers may be skewed by the fact the department is short-staffed, Douglas said.
“It’s pretty much on par with previous years but one thing I will say is that we are definitely doing more with less when we are not fully staffed,” Douglas said. “On patrol we are seven short right now but we do have five in various stages of hiring.”
In 2023 there were no murder cases investigated by the police department, which was down from three cases in 2022. The department reports six cases of kidnapping and abduction in 2023, up from five cases in 2022.
There were five cases of rape investigated in 2023 and seven in 2022.
Cocaine, fentanyl and meth
In the last few years the department reports seeing a “huge increase in drug use.”
Douglas said the department is especially vigilant about fentanyl and heroin, which continue to make their mark in the region.
Officers are worried about facing fentanyl in the field, Douglas said.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Ryan Douglas speaks at the Chippewa Falls police station on Aug. 16.
“We have safeguards in place but that’s our big concern is the fentanyl and heroin influx,” Douglas said. “It’s just so deadly.”
In 2023 the department seized about 3 grams of fentanyl/heroin. In 2022 that amount was just over 5 grams. In 2021 the department seized more than 50 grams of fentanyl/heroin.
Other drugs of prevalence in the area include meth and cocaine.
In 2023 the department seized 272 grams of meth, which is down significantly over the two years prior. In 2022 the department seized 344 grams and in 2021 it seized 391 grams.
“With meth the numbers are the numbers but all it takes is one case to increase those numbers substantially,” Douglas said. “That being said, we are hopeful that some of our anti-drug initiatives are working. The fact is it’s here and we have to keep fighting that as a department and community.”
In 2023 the department seized 92 grams of cocaine, up from 30 grams in 2022. In 2021 the department seized seven grams of cocaine.
In 2023 the department seized 1,313 grams of marijuana, about 2.8 pounds. That is down from 2022 when the department seized 1,682 grams of marijuana, about 3.75 pounds.
That was a significant jump over 2021 when the department seized 544 grams, about 1.2 pounds.
Driving while intoxicated
Douglas said in 2023, city police made 127 arrests for operating while intoxicated. The average blood alcohol content at time of arrest was .17%, more than double the legal limit to drive in Wisconsin of .08%.
Douglas said the average blood alcohol content is telling.
“That’s not ‘I had a few sips too many’, that's ’I had two beers and drove’ and that’s not good,” Douglas said.
Nearly 20% of OWI arrests involved drugs, the 2023 report states.
In 2022 the department had 112 arrests for operating while intoxicated.
The average blood alcohol content at time of arrest in 2022 was also .17%.
In 2021 the department reported 103 OWIs and in 2020 it reported 131.
”We remain vigilant on that. With fewer officers working we may see numbers go down because there aren’t as many out there making arrests,” Douglas said.
Use of force
Force was used against officers 117 times in 2023 according to the report. Douglas said the number of cases of force against officers almost doubled since 2022.
Meanwhile, force was used by officers in less than .07% of the 10,757 calls for service in 2023. Officers used force 75 times in 2023, according to Douglas.
“We've got it broken down into multiple different areas,” Douglas said. “For instance, we got firearms directed, we have compliance holds, decentralization, restraint, Tasers, pressure points, vertical stuns and batons, pepper spray, canine, less lethal and all of those.”
Out of the 75 cases in which police reported use of force against subjects, 19 involved restraining somebody or “holding somebody down, either to handcuff or do a blood draw or something to that effect,” he said.
Sixteen cases involved firearms directed. Nine were compliance holds and nine cases deployed decentralization techniques, he said.
Citations
In 2023 the department served 1,281 traffic citations including 126 citations for operating without a license and 169 for failure to wear a seatbelt. Another 126 citations were served for driving under the influence, 1st, 2nd and 3rd offenses.
The department also served 190 non-traffic citations in 2023 including 40 for possession of drug paraphernalia, 15 for brawling or fighting and 18 for underage drinking.
In 2022 the department reported handing out 1,050 traffic citations and 58 non-traffic citations.
