Skip to main content

Police Blotter

Foot patrol Saturday

May 10, 2021 12:17 PM

This past Saturday I was working in patrol and took two opportunities to provide "foot patrol" as the weather was decent.  I first went to the Penn Park/Fisher/Baird area.  A few hours later I went to the Lake Point Dr/Waunona Woods area.  I should have trusted more of my gut and trusted Madison more.  As was the case, I was uncertain of what I would encounter as Madison Police Captain walking the neighborhoods in uniform.  There were not any outward signs of not wanting police in the neighborhood, not one.  Everyone I encountered greeted me with pleasantries and thanked me for walking the neighborhood.  Each car that passed me either waved or nodded.  This is opposite of the narrative seen on social media or on television each night.   Below are the highlights of my time on foot patrol:

One man who was fixing his car stopped myself and Officer Jack Graziano to chat it up.  He went down memory lane of all the "old Madison cops" he knew and recited their names.  He said he had been in trouble in the past, but now at 61 years-old had all of that behind him.  He had positive things to say about MPD and upon receiving my business card said he would call if he needed us. 
We encountered a woman doing yardwork and she asked us how we were doing.  This was all with smiles and a brief conversation. 
The beautiful aroma of a BBQ in Penn Park lured us to pay a visit.  The folks having the BBQ chatted with us, thanked us for our service and showed us their food that could be sold at top dollar in a restaurant.  They were proud of their grill and told me to enjoy Mother's Day with my wife and mother. 
One woman yelled 50 yards for us to come to her window as she thought Officer Graziano was a different Officer as they both have bushy beards.  After talking with her, she thanked us for being on foot in her neighborhood. 
As I was on Lake Point Dr a male stopped to ask me a question.  We chatted for 20-30 minutes about his domestic relations, child issues and the need to help return a 13 year-old back to school because he had not attended for three years.  I was in a school play in 3rd grade, but never thought people would recognize me from that; but oddly enough as I was talking with this African American male on the sidewalk, two white people across the street got their phone out to film us or take a picture.  The sign of the times of many of law enforcement – nationwide.

I had a lot of fun on foot patrol going from ambassador to mechanic to bbq judge to a lending an ear.   

The reality is that during this experience and countless others each day, your police department has positive relations in the community.  Our residents, in all neighborhoods, appreciate the police, call us when there is a crisis and expect high-level professional service.  We have standards in Madison that we are always building upon.  Your Police Officers are committed to our neighborhoods and are committed to providing you a high-level of police service every shift.  You will see us walking the neighborhoods again as we are anxious to do so and you will see us at events whenever we are invited.  Let's enjoy each other and learn more about each other!    Stay safe!!  Mike Hanson - Captain, Madison Police South District

 Email to a friend

Subscribe to Email List

Subscribe to the Police Blotter email list:

By participating on this list the Wisconsin Public Records Laws may subject your email address to disclosure to third parties. By selecting "Yes" you are requesting that we treat your email address that you have provided to this list as confidential and you are also stating that you would not participate in this service if the City is obligated to release your email address to such third party requesters.

Posts By Month

Posts By Category

Tags

#Back2SchoolSAFETYTIPS  #BattleOfTheBadges  #beneighborly  #Captain Brian Austin  #ClickItOrTicket  #CoffeeWithACop  #CommunitySurvey  #ConeWithACop  #DriveSoberOrGetPulledOver  #DrugTakeBack  #FindYOURBlueCalling  #GoodNeighborProject  #HelicopterParent  #lovemadison  #MPDMotorUnit  #NightlyLockup  #PrideMonth  #SafetyTips  #ScamAlert  #seesomethingsaysomething  #SouthSideSoccerSeries  #VisionZeroMadison  #WeAreThe28  #westdistrictstrategicplan  #YouCanBeYOU  Amigos en Azul  Bigs In Blue  Bike Rides  Black Youth Academy  Budget Process  Capt. Cory Nelson  Captain Ackeret  Captain Beckett  Captain Freedman  Captain Patton  Central District  Ceremonies  Chief Barnes  Citizen Recognition  Coffee with a Cop  Community Academy  Community Awards  Community Events  Community Forums  Community Gang Outreach  Community Outreach  Community Partnership  Community Policing  Community Survey  CORE  CRASE  Crime Prevention  Crime Stoppers  Crossing Guards  Cyber Detective Camp  Cyber Safety  Damaged Property  Downtown Safety  Driving Safely  East District  East High School  Edgewood College  Education Resource Officer  Emily Samson  Events  Explorers Post  Facebook  Fireside Five-Oh  Fireside Five-Oh  Good Neighbor Project  Guerrilla Grillers  Guerrilla Grillers  homeless  Investigations  Join the Team  K9  LaFollette High School  LeadsOnline  Lieutenant Lori Beth Chalecki  Lieutenant Patterson  Madison Area Addiction Recovery Initiative (MAARI)  Madison Area Recovery Initiative (MARI)  Madison Community Policing Foundation  Madison Parks  Madison Schools  MedDrop Box  Midtown District  Midtown Strategic Plan  MMSD  Mobile Device Safety  Mounted Patrol  MPD Awards Ceremony  National Night Out  Neighborhood Police Officers  Neighborhood Watch  New Recruits  North District  North District  Pawn Shops  Pedestrian Safety  Personal Safety  Phishing Scams  Police Biking  Property Crimes  Red Cross Blood Drive  Registered Sex Offender  Residential Burglaries  Road Home  Road Home  Robberies  Safe Communities  Safety in the Home  Safety Saturday  Secondhand Business  Self Report Unit  Sex Offender Information Bulletin  Shooting  Shout Out  Social Media  Solicitor Permits  South District  Southwest Safety Initiative  Spanish  Special Olympics  State St  Straubel  Straubel  SWAT  Torch Run  Traffic Concerns  Traffic Enforcement Safety Team (TEST)  Twitter  UW-Madison  Weapons Offenses  West Community Academy  West District  Youth Programs  Zero in Wisconsin