Winter Parking begins ...

Beginning tonight, the city of Sturgeon Bay's winter parking restrictions are in effect.  City ordinance 7.07 states:

No operator of any vehicle shall park such vehicle upon any street within the city between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. during December, January, February and March.  

The Street Department's snow plow drivers would like to thank everyone in advance for following this ordinance and helping them clear our streets more efficiently.
 
Failure to obey this ordinance can result in a $15 parking ticket.

Thanksgiving Weekend Activity

The Thanksgiving Weekend was relatively quiet for the Police Department, and for that, we are so very thankful!

A few incidents to report:

Disorderly Behavior: On November 24 at 7:08pm, officers were dispatched to the west side of the city for a possible fight.  It was reported two individuals were chasing a male through some yards, before the person sought refugee at a home.  Police located and identified the people involved.  A 26 year old male from Sturgeon Bay was issued an ordinance citation for disorderly conduct.  


Mischievous Activity: On the evening of  November 25 just before midnight, police received a report of kids throwing objects at moving vehicles in the area of Georgia St and 14th Ave.  Toilet paper was found in the area, but the kids were not located.  No damage was reported to the vehicles.

During the day on November 26, police took two reports that eggs had been thrown on houses and vehicles in the 1100 of Georgia St and 400 block of N 12th Ave.  The owners did not believe there would be any permanent damage to the property, but found the egg debris was hard to remove.  

On November 27 just after midnight, police were sent to Duluth Ave and Maple St for three teenage males dressed in dark clothing throwing toilet paper at cars.  The teenagers were not located and no damage was reported to the vehicles.

   
OWI: On November 27 at 2:00am, police observed a vehicle operating without headlights/taillights in the downtown business district.  A stop was made and the driver, a 29 year old male from Sturgeon Bay, was found to have been drinking alcohol.  The male had slurred speech and field sobriety tests showed clues for impairment.  The driver was arrested for OWI-1st offense.

Wal-Mart Traffic Signals Back in Operation

The traffic lights at the Wal-Mart entrance on Egg Harbor Rd are working again. We have been notified the contractor has just completed reconnecting all of the wiring and reprogramming of the control box to make them fully operational.

The lights have been programmed so Egg Harbor Rd traffic has the green light, unless a vehicle activates the sensors while exiting Wal-Mart.  

Please use caution in this area, for it has been a year since they were last working and motorists/pedestrians must adjust to the new traffic pattern.

Weekend Domestic Arrests

On November 19 at 1:57am, city officers were sent to a west side residence for a family fight.  An investigation determined the 32 year old husband had gotten into an argument with his wife.  The husband pushed the wife into the bed and then into the closet door, and threw bedding at her.  The wife is currently pregnant, and sustained a bruise to her arm.

The male was arrested for domestic related disorderly conduct and taken to the Door County Jail.  The male was on probation, and the WI Department of Corrections placed a probation hold on him for violating his rules, which prevented the male from being released from jail.


On November 20 at 10:03pm, police were dispatched to an east side apartment for a disorderly male, who attacked the reporting person.  Police learned the male got upset at his girlfriend, yelling at her and calling her profane names.  The male broke the female's cell phone, and proceeded to tip over the chair the female was sitting in.  The suspect was intoxicated and fled the scene on foot prior to police arrival.

However, police were able to locate the suspect, a 58 year old male from Sturgeon Bay.  The male was arrested for domestic related disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property.  The male was taken to the Door County Jail and required to post bond due to the offense being a domestic arrest.

Both cases have been referred to the DA's Office.

Victims of domestic abuse can receive free services and support through HELP of Door County by visiting their office at 219 Green Bay Rd in Sturgeon Bay, or calling their 24 hour hotline at 920-743-8818.

OWI 3rd Offense Arrest

On November 19 around 9:40pm, a city officer stopped a vehicle for failing to stop at a red light at the Madison Ave and Maple St intersection, nearly striking another vehicle.  The officer detected an odor of alcohol from the driver, a 29 year old male from Sturgeon Bay.

Field sobriety tests indicated the driver was impaired, and he was arrested for his 3rd offense OWI.  In addition, the driver did not have a driver's license and was cited for operating without a valid license.  The male was taken to the Door County Jail to await an appearance before a judge.  The case has been sent to the DA's Office for charges.

Drunk Behavior Keeps Getting Male Arrested

On November 20 at 1:38am, officers were sent to Poh's Corner Pub for a disorderly person who was taking and drinking other people's drinks.  When officers arrived on scene they observed the suspect, a 31 year old male from Sturgeon Bay, yelling, swearing and pounding his fists on the bar.  The male was heavily intoxicated.

The suspect would not listen or cooperate with the officer when asked to leave the bar.  When officers went to arrest the male for disorderly conduct, he resisted.  Officers had to take the male to the ground in order to handcuff him, and in the process, one of the officer's arm/wrist was injured during the process of arresting him, when the suspect landed on the officer's arm.  The male then began to make suicidal comments.

The male was taken to the hospital for medical and mental evaluation.  While in the ER, the male continued to yell and scream, using racial slurs and derogatory names and he told two officers he was going kill them.

Once medically cleared, the male was taken to jail and charged with two felonies, threatening a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with injury, and two misdemeanors, disorderly conduct (two counts) and bail jumping.  The injured officer was seen in the ER and found not to have a broken wrist, but sustained a sprain with a soft tissue injury.


This same male had been arrested by police on October 4, and was out on bond conditions for charges of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.  (conditions of the bond were to not drink any alcohol and to not commit further crimes)  During that incident, it was reported the male was screaming and yelling obscenities out of an upstairs apartment window in the 3rd Ave business district.  The male was found to be intoxicated and issued an ordinance citation for disorderly conduct; the male responded he did not care.  Approximately 10 minutes after leaving the suspects apartment, the male came outside and was on the sidewalk on Michigan St.  The male began to yell racial slurs which was heard and observed by the officer.  Officers arrested the male for a criminal offense of disorderly conduct.  During the arrest process, the male resisted officers and refused to follow officer's commands, which lead to the second charge of resisting an officer.  

Two OWI Arrests From One Call

On November 16 around 9:30pm, a city officer observed a vehicle fail to stop for a stop sign at Oregon St @ 3rd Ave.  A traffic stop was conducted and the driver, a 44 yr old male from Sturgeon Bay, immediately got out of his vehicle.  The officer requested the male get back in the vehicle, and the driver replied he had been drinking and told the officer to take him to jail.  The driver than took off running from the officer.

The officer pursued the driver on foot, catching him.  The driver smelled of intoxicants and was not cooperative with police.  The driver was arrested for OWI-1st offense.  The driver was also issued citations for failure to stop at a stop sign, operating without a valid drivers license and resisting a police officer.


During the investigation of the above incident, that driver began yelling at police about another vehicle in the vicinity.  Believing an altercation may have taken place, police stopped the second vehicle, which was driven a 59 yr old male from Sturgeon Bay.  It was determined the two drivers shared a residence, but the altercation was not between the two drivers, but another occupant of the residence.

However, police found the driver of the second vehicle had been drinking alcohol as well, and he showed signs of impairment.  This driver was arrested for OWI-4th offense.  He was taken to the Door County Jail and required to remain in jail until an appearance before the judge due to the repeat offense.

Thank You Veteran's

 The Sturgeon Bay Police Department would like to thank and honor all our veterans who have proudly served this country.  Your faithful service is appreciated, knowing your sacrifices allow us to live in a free democratic country.

We also extend a personal note of thanks to the US Coast Guard who has three units located in Sturgeon Bay.  It is an honor to work with you, and we appreciate the strong positive relationship we built together to serve the City of Sturgeon Bay.

Last, we want to recognize four of our officers who have proudly served their country in the Armed Forces:
     Shawn Mogen - US Coast Guard
     Dan Coyhis - US Navy
     Andrew Crabb- US Navy
     John Hajny- US Army

Gas Station Smash & Grab

On November 8, at 4:25am, police were sent to the Marathon Gas Station at 222 S Madison Ave for a burglary.  It was reported the glass front door to the business had been shattered.  A money box with cash and cigarettes had been stolen.

Police continue to investigate this burglary and watch store video. Initial investigation leads police to believe the suspect is a male.

Anyone with information on this burglary or knows of a person who suspiciously came into possession of a large amount of cash and cigarettes are asked to contact the Sturgeon Bay Police Department at 746-2450.  A caller can remain anonymous.  Cash rewards are available for information provided that leads to the arrest and conviction of the criminal.

Runaway call leads to criminal case

On the afternoon of November 7, police were dispatched to an apartment building on the west side of the city to look for a 15 year old female runaway at the request of the Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department.  Police located the runaway hiding in the apartment, after the 19 year old male resident denied the runaway was there.

Further investigation by police revealed the male had been in a sexual relationship with the 15 year old.  The male was also a suspect in an unrelated investigation where he was sending nude photos to other underage girls.

The male was arrested and taken to the Door County Jail on felony charges for 2nd degree sexual assault of a child and child enticement-sexual contact, as well as misdemeanor obstructing an officer. The case has been referred to the DA's Office and police continue to investigate the matter.

The runaway was taken into protective custody and released to her parents.    

One trip to jail was not enough...

On November 9 at 7:38pm, police were dispatched to Cherry Lanes Bar for a disorderly complaint.  Police learned a 37 year old male from Sturgeon Bay had asked a bar employee who they had voted for in the presidential election.  Upon being told, the male became upset and he possessed a bat, taking up a swinging stance with the bat, which scared the employee.  The suspect was swearing at and calling the employee names, but did not swing the bat.  The suspect left the bar prior to police arrival, but was located in the downtown area, and arrested for Disorderly Conduct.  The male was taken to the Door County Jail, booked in and released.  The suspect was intoxicated.

At 9:58pm, officers were dispatched back to Cherry Lanes Bar, as the original suspect returned to confront the employee again.  The suspect returned to the bar and grabbed the employee by his shirt, and shoving him up against the wall, upset about the police being called.  The employee was not hurt, but threatened by the suspects actions.  The suspect was located and arrested for another Disorderly Conduct charge.  The male was taken to the jail and required to post bond this time, due to the likely chance the suspect would return to Cherry Lanes if released without bond.

The suspect claimed he was upset over the election results and wanted to protest.  The case has been referred to the DA's Office for charges.

Daytime DUI Leads to Numerous Citations

 On October 8 at 1:40pm, city officers were dispatched to Hwy 42/57 for a reckless driving complaint.  Police located the vehicle and observed it had crossed the center line of the highway, and stopped the vehicle.

The driver, a 20 year old male from Ellison Bay, smelled of alcohol, had blood shot eyes and slurred speech, but claimed he only had "2 drinks."  Field sobriety tests indicated the driver was impaired and PBT showed a level over two times the legal limit of .08.  The driver was arrested for OWI-1st offense.

Open intoxicants were visible in the vehicle.  In addition to the OWI citation, the driver received citations for operating left of center, open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, underage transport of alcohol and underage possession/consumption of alcohol.

Thank you

 

A BIG THANK YOU to Girl Scout Troop 4339 for making a wonderful poster and bringing in goodie baskets to show support for the Sturgeon Bay police officers.   

On November 6 at 8:36pm, officers were dispatched to Motel 57 for a domestic disturbance.  Officers learned a 36 year old male got into an argument with his fiancee.  The male became upset, throwing a pot of food on the floor and breaking items in the room, and then shoving his fiancee into the wall, prior to police being called.

Police arrested the male for domestic related disorderly conduct, and took the male to the Door County Jail.


Domestic Abuse Services are provided free of charge by HELP of Door County. They can be contacted at 920-743-8818 or toll free at 800-914-3571.

OWI 4th Offense with 2 year old in Car

On November 6 at 5:35pm, officers received a report of an intoxicated driver who left a residence striking a dog, and the driver had her 2 year old child in the car.

Police located and stopped the vehicle, which was being driven by a 35 year old female from Sturgeon Bay.  The driver smelled of alcohol and had blood shot eyes.  Field sobriety tests indicated the driver was impaired, and the driver was arrested for OWI-4th offense with a child under 4 years old (increased penalties if convicted).

In addition, marijuana and a glass pipe were located in the vehicle.  Due to the drivers prior convictions for possession of marijuana, the driver was charged with felony possession of marijuana/THC and possession of drug paraphernalia.  The driver was taken to the Door County Jail to wait an appearance before a judge.

The child in the car was unharmed and released to the father.  The dog was taken to veterinarian as a precaution, but is expected to be fine.