GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - New information is coming out about how complaints against a Green Bay police officer under investigation for excessive force compares to other cops.
Last month, FOX 11 did an open records request which found that Officer Derek Wicklund had 6 excessive force complaints against him in the last 8 years. We're now getting some stats about where Wicklund stands against his peers.
The Green Bay Police Department hired Wicklund in July 2002. Ten officers were hired within about a year of that date. The department did not name those officers, but all of them are still with the department.
Of those officers, Wicklund has the third-most citizen complaints, with 15. The officer with the most had 25. However, when it comes to excessive force complaints, Wicklund has the most with 6. The next closest officer has 4. The rest either have two, one, or none.
“He’s been one of the officers that have always liked to work, so he’s in some of the more hard hit areas of our community,” Green Bay Police Captain Bill Galvin tells FOX 11. “He’s a very aggressive officer when it comes to fighting crime, so that could be a possible explanation there also.”
Galvin says between Wicklund and the ten other officers, there were 20 investigated excessive force complaints. Internal investigations found no wrongdoing in any of the complaints.
Galvin adds a number of factors contribute to one officer having more complaints than another. They include what shift and part of the city the officer works.
The state is still investigating Wicklund’s arrest from the April cell phone video outside a downtown Green Bay bar.
(Additional reporting by FOX 11).