“Josh Kaul needs to immediately recommit the necessary resources to protect northern Wisconsin” – DA Eric Toney.
A key tribal leader told the state Legislature that the lack of narcotics investigators in the Josh Kaul-led Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Eau Claire office is “resulting in many unnecessary deaths.”
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Chairwoman Nicole Boyd made the startling comments while delivering the 2026 State of the Tribes Address earlier this month. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is run by Democrat Kaul; he took office in 2019.
“In 2013, there were four resident narcotics investigation agents out of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Eau Claire field [office] that focuses from Spooner north,” Boyd said. “In 2022, there were three. By the end of 2024, there was one. In 2025, there were zero – yes, zero – narcotics investigative agents in the northern half of the state.”
“As a result, we know this has caused incredible delays in investigations, resulting in many unnecessary deaths. Investigative work is more than the typical law enforcement area can provide,” Boyd added.
“It is an area of expertise that few possess, and pretending that the northern part of the state doesn’t have this need is harmful and deadly. We must address this immediately, or we will continue to hear the horror stories of families who are losing loved ones due to our negligence and lack of resources.”
From 2016 through 2024, there were 431 opioid deaths in the northern region of Wisconsin, 81 heroin deaths, 48 cocaine deaths, and 205 meth and other stimulants deaths. Drug deaths peaked in 2022 statewide.
It’s not that Kaul hasn’t received new hires. In 2023, he was able to hire 20 new agents.
The tribal leader’s comments come after Kaul’s own report documented his continued mismanagement of the state crime lab, another crucial factor in drug investigations. In 2024, Kaul’s crime lab handled the fewest cases of his tenure. Controlled substance testing at the crime lab is taking longer under Kaul than during the tenure of his predecessor, Republican AG Brad Schimel, according to Kaul’s own report.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, who is running against Kaul for Attorney General, raised concerns about Kaul’s management after Boyd’s comments.
“In 2022, I warned of Josh Kaul’s dangerous mismanagement of DCI positions,” Toney said, referring to the Division of Criminal Investigation within DOJ. DCI “DCI is responsible for investigating crimes that are statewide in nature or importance,” Kaul’s office has said, including drug trafficking.
“Sadly, that pattern has continued and is now having a devastating effect on northern Wisconsin. His failure to allocate resources to combat our state’s drug crisis is another broken promise that has unnecessarily cost lives. Josh Kaul needs to immediately recommit the necessary resources to protect northern Wisconsin.”
