The Milwaukee Police Department has refused to release a new Hannah Dugan police body cam video, citing, in part, crime “prevention” and “detection” and the “victim’s” privacy and reputational concerns as a reason for withholding the video from Wisconsin Right Now.
Wisconsin Right Now has exclusively learned from federal courthouse sources that federal prosecutors are seeking the April 22 video because they think Dugan may have made what prosecutors believe could be incriminating comments on it about her actions allegedly bringing an illegal immigrant out a nonpublic jury door. Dugan also defended her actions in the video, sources say. They think the statements that she made on the MPD body cam video – which came when officers responded to her house for a threat investigation – might help their case, the sources said.
The April 22 video’s existence has not been reported before, and it’s a different video from those already released in the high-profile case.
In addition, the Milwaukee Police Department cited the ongoing investigation for withholding the video. The City of Milwaukee was one of four entities that DHS wrote it put on formal notice recently for allegedly not cooperating with immigration authorities. MPD referred our questions on that notice to the city; the mayor’s spokesman didn’t return a request for comment on that matter.
Wisconsin Right Now learned of the body cam video’s existence from sources associated with the federal courthouse.
“At this time, your request for the body worn camera video you identified has been denied, pursuant to the Wis. Stat. 19.35(1) balancing test,” the MPD wrote. “…the denial was based in large part on the fact that the investigation into the incident at issue in the requested footage is still open and ongoing.”
In addition, when applying the balancing test, “public policies in favor of keeping strategies for crime detection and prevention confidential were also considered.” The MPD wrote that “In this instance, release of the requested records related to the ongoing investigation, prior to its completion, could compromise or prejudice additional investigation, could impact the ability of law enforcement to gain cooperation from potential witnesses, and could infringe on the reputation and privacy of victims and witnesses. The requested videos also contain raw investigation data gathered from witnesses of varying degrees of reliability that has not yet been properly verified.”
WRN was told it could resubmit the request after the investigation concludes. The letter was signed by Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and Lt. Jay Karas.
Dugan was arrested on April 25 by federal authorities and accused of obstructing law enforcement by helping the illegal immigrant escape her courtroom on April 18; he allegedly led federal officers on a short foot chase. She is facing two charges for obstruction and concealing the individual from arrest. She is fighting the charges.
We requested the video on April 25 and the city denied it on May 21 in a letter to WRN.
Here’s that letter: Response #2509018
The sources told Wisconsin Right Now that the video was recorded when Milwaukee police responded to a threat investigation at Dugan’s house after she grew worried about a leaflet that was distributed in the area. In that video, we are told that she makes comments about the situation with the illegal immigrant that ended in her federal charges.
The sources said the leaflet mentioned religion and Wisconsin weapons laws and cited state statutes. The leaflets didn’t mention Dugan or the illegal immigrant case, the sources said.
