Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2001
Source: Waukesha Freeman (WI)
Copyright: 2001 The Waukesha Freeman
Address: 801 N. Barstow St., POB 7, Waukesha, WI 53187
Fax: (262) 542-8259
Author: ANNE E. SCHWARTZ - GM Today Staff

WOMAN IN BOTCHED BUST SAYS SHE'LL GET LEGAL COUNSEL

MUSKEGO - Every misdeed of her life, every parking ticket, every time she 
didn't clean up after her dog - it all ran through Sue Wilson's mind as she 
lay handcuffed at gunpoint on a cold, wet driveway Wednesday night."I'm 
going through my head, saying, 'What in the world could I have done to 
deserve this?'" Wilson, 49, said Thursday morning, still incredulous at 
what happened the night before. "I never had a problem with the police 
before."She does now.

About 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Wilson let out her small white poodle, Bogey, 
for his nightly run outside her friend's Muskego home on Ranch Drive. She 
casually noticed a number of cars pulled up to the side of the house, but 
she dismissed it.As she walked over to the corner of the garage, a man 
appeared out of the dark from behind a bush brandishing a gun.

"He says, 'Police! Get the dog! Get down on the ground!,'" Wilson said, 
walking the perimeter of the garage and gesturing animatedly to show where 
everything happened.

"There's a guy with a shield on his face and the next thing I know, I'm on 
the ground being handcuffed."Officers from the Waukesha County Metro Drug 
Group told Wilson they had a search warrant, and began asking her for the 
whereabouts of the people on the warrant, she said. Meanwhile, other 
officers went into the home where she was staying through an open garage 
door, she said.

It soon became clear to all that officers had picked the wrong house.

Sheriff Bill Kruziki immediately acknowledged the officers in the unit made 
a mistake.

"Somebody here did make a mistake," Kruziki said apologetically Thursday.

"The warrant had everything right," Waukesha County District Attorney Paul 
Bucher said. "The address was right. The name was right. Unfortunately, the 
officers at the scene picked the wrong address."

Bucher is on the board of directors that oversees the drug group, and said 
the board would be looking into the incident. He said that if Wilson called 
him, he would apologize to her and make sure any damages are paid for.

"Certainly, I want to find out what happened," Bucher said.

But Wilson said no one can replace her peace of mind.

"This was totally uncalled for," she said. "I can see them having guns - 
they're looking for drugs. But the way they treated me was uncalled 
for."Wilson said she would be talking with an attorney about what her next 
step might be.

The sheriff's department and Muskego police are investigating the incident.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart