Monday, March 17, 2008

Whitewater Police Chief Goes After Anonymous Blogger

Fer cripe’s sake. 

It’s a mystery that has gripped Whitewater city government since July: Who is John Adams, the anonymous blogger at http://www.freewhitewater.com?

The Web site, Free Whitewater, was launched last spring and takes aim at the “narrow-minded” leaders of the community of 14,000 about 45 miles southeast of Madison.

[...]

But much of his criticism is reserved for Whitewater’s police chief, James Coan, whom the closeted critic accuses of misusing his position.

Case in point: Coan’s use of city employees to try to unmask Adams — exposed in a series of posts on his blog earlier this month — that is part Keystone Cops and part challenge to Adams’ constitutional rights.

According to Whitewater Police Department e-mails obtained by Adams under the state’s open records law, Coan involved at least two detectives, the city’s director of public works, its information technology officer and the city clerk — all working on city time and using taxpayer-funded resources — to find the identity of a man described as a “suspect” but who had not committed a crime.

Coan defended the “minimal” use of city resources, which he said was aimed at gauging “potential threats” from “someone who seems so extremely angry at me and with our department.”

However, one man whom the chief erroneously accused of being the blogger said Coan never mentioned anything about a threat. Laird Scott and his wife, Mariann, a former Whitewater City Council member, said that during a Jan. 4 interview at their house, the chief repeatedly asked Scott to stop publishing the blog.

What the heck is wrong with these thin-skinned bully public officials?  So now someone who criticizes a police chief is a “threat?”  Give me a break.

(5) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0631 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin + Technology

  1. Thanks for the link, I like this blogger.  I hope Coan gets run out of town on a pike.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2008 at 0856 hrs


  2. It sure looks like the City of Hudson dodged the bullet when Coan packed up after a couple weeks as chief and returned to Whitewater without any explanation.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2008 at 1039 hrs


  3. Go John, Go! We need many more like you and fewer like the Chief and those that have assisted him.

    Tom Paine

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2008 at 1100 hrs


  4. Wow.  I currently attend UW-Whitewater, and have many ties to City government through various people I know.  I’m going to be honest hear, I did not hear about this until I read your post, Owen.  Thanks for the update.  I definitely want to keep following this.

    Posted by Brandon on March 17, 2008 at 1240 hrs


  5. he should change his name to Chief Wiggiams he is sure acting like him.  Ed, Lou round down and round up everyone with a computer for questioning lol.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2008 at 1654 hrs


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