A Mequon man who claims three Port Washington police officers beat him up Saturday picketed outside the Police Station Monday, but authorities deny the man’s claim, saying he was unruly when they arrested him.

    Bill Wisth said he was worried about the welfare of his son, whom he hadn’t heard from in three to four days, when he called police to a south-side Port Washington apartment Saturday afternoon.

    Officers spoke to his son and said the son didn’t want to speak to him, Wisth said. He then asked the officer to collect $750 from his son — money he said  his son owed him — and police asked him to leave.

    Wisth said he was waiting outside for a ride home when officers confronted him, pulled out a Taser and handcuffed him. They took him to the Police Station, then to the Ozaukee County jail, where Wisth said they threw him onto the hood of the squad car to search him, ripping his pants.

    Inside the jail, he said, they slammed him into a window, kicked and punched him while two sheriff’s deputies watched. They removed the handcuffs and released him in a cell.

    Wisth said he plans to file a complaint with the Police and Fire Commission and sue the city and county.

    Police Chief Kevin Hingiss disputed Wisth’s claims, saying his officers acted professionally. “There’s absolutely no truth or basis for a police brutality complaint,” he said.

    Hingiss confirmed officers were called for a welfare check on Wisth’s son, but said the son told police that he had spoken to his father the previous day and didn’t want anything to do with him.

    Wisth told the officers he was going to stay there until he saw his son, threatening to “kick his son’s (backside) and get his money,” Hingiss said. Wisth was asked to leave, and when he didn’t, he was arrested and placed in the squad car. He then started kicking the vehicle and threatening to break the window, Hingiss said.

    Officers did not harm Wisth, Hingiss said.

    Undersheriff Jim Johnson on Wednesday said a review of video and audio footage of Wisth’s arrest and jailing — taken by cameras in the jail and body cameras worn by the Port police officers — shows that there was no undue force used.

    “As far as we know, it’s a false claim,” he said. Officers and deputies did use a compliance hold, which he said is minimal force, to escort Wisth because he was uncooperative and went limp, Johnson said.

    Johnson, who said that his department had previously issued an alert on Wisth because of threats he has made, said Wisth tried to kick the Port squad car while at the jail.

    Following department policy, Johnson said, the videos were reviewed by a use of force instructor and a lieutenant to ensure proper policies were followed.

   Work on lights, fence could begin next year

Port Washington officials are taking steps to beautify the walkway to the north beach, making plans to replace the chain-link fence around portions of the wastewater plant and relocate the lights along the east pathway.

    This is a next logical step for the city, which has taken steps to make the beach more accessible in the past several years, the Board of Public Works agreed last week as it endorsed the plan.

    “I’m all for making it beautiful,” Ald. Jim Vollmar, a member of the board, said.

    Beach access has become a hot topic for officials recently.

    “The topic comes up from time to time, but there seems to be a greater interest now than ever before to improve the north beach access,” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said.

    “This isn’t a completely new idea, but it may be an idea whose time has come.”

    The plan calls for the existing fence on the south and west sides of the plant to be replaced with a decorative one.

    The existing chain-link fence creates an uninviting atmosphere for people walking to the beach, Vanden Noven said.

    In the past several years, the city has planted native vines along the fence to try to camouflage it, he said.

    “That was my low-budget attempt to improve the appearance,” he said.

    But as the city discussed ways to improve the access this summer, renovating the walkway to curb the mud that flows from the hillside over the path, Vanden Noven said it was time to look at further improvements.

    He noted that the city would not allow businesses in the community to install chain-link fencing topped with barbed wire.

    “The city should live up to the expectations it puts on others,” he said. “It bothers me that the city has a chain-link and barbed-wire fence around its facility. It’s unlikely we would allow someone to build this.”

    When some members of the board questioned whether a decorative fence would be secure enough, Vanden Noven pointed out that We Energies erected similar fencing around its power plant when it was renovated.

    It’s difficult to climb because there aren’t easy footholds, Ald. Mike Ehrlich, a member of the board, said.

    The fence along the east walkway to the beach won’t be replaced until a driveway on that side of the wastewater plant is repaved within the next five years, Vanden Noven said.

    However, the light poles that impede people with strollers and wheelchairs will be moved inside the fence and onto the wastewater plant grounds next year, he said.

    The estimated $75,000 cost is expected to be funded by the utility’s surplus funds, Vanden Noven said.

    Board member Kevin Rudser suggested the city also look at ways to camouflage the tanks, particularly when viewed from above, perhaps by covering them.

    That can be explored, said Vanden Noven, who also suggested the city consider painting murals on the sides of the tanks to make them less obtrusive.

Image Information: PORT WASHINGTON OFFICIALS are planning improvements to the paths to the north beach, including the removal of the light poles in the middle of the walkway on the east side of the wastewater treatment plant and the replacement of the chain-link fence with a decorative one.      Photo by Bill Schanen IV