The end of 2013 brought a
measure of closure to a long-running Milwaukee police scandal, though some say
the officer — and his cohorts — who repeatedly and illegally shoved his fingers
up black male suspects’ anal cavities got off with a light sentence considering
the flagrant nature of his abuses.
The ringleader was identified
as officer Michael Vagnini, a white man who routinely targeted black males as
young as fifteen for sadistic — and blatantly illegal — anal searches.
One victim said that another
officer put a gun to his head while Vagnini administered a choke hold, touched
his scrotum and fingered his anus. Another man was probed so violently that he
bled.
Wisconsin law clearly prohibits
police officers from administering cavity searches. Only medical professionals
may do so, and only when authorized by a warrant.
But lack of a warrant or a
medical degree did not stop Vagnini from sticking his fingers inside a
15-year-old boy’s anus and touching his genitals during a traffic stop in
December of 2011.
The Journal Sentinel documented
at least a dozen similar instances of Vagnini performing invasive, illegal
searches on black men. According to his reports, some of the victims were
indeed carrying drugs, though they contend that the officer lied about the
details and even planted drugs inside their bodies.
One man, Keon Canada, was
searched by Milwaukee police on four separate occasions. They searched his
buttcheeks and opened the front of his pants. No drugs were found during any of
the searches.
Vagnini rarely used gloves when
he probed their anuses, the victims contend. He also stole personal items and
laughed when asked to present a warrant.
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn
gradually became aware of what Vagnini was doing but had to wait “a couple of
years,” for a proper investigation to take place. Eventually, Vagnini was
charged with 25 counts of assault and sexual assault against at least a dozen
victims.
For his crimes, Vagnini will
serve a little over two years in jail.
As part of a plea deal accepted
earlier this year, he admitted his guilt on four felony and four misdemeanor
charges, earning 26 months in jail. The sexual assault charge was voided by the
deal, allowing Vagnini to avoid having to register as a sex offender.
Vagnini did not act alone,
although most reports conclude that he was the only officer administering anal
cavity searches. At least four other officers–Jacob Knight, Jeffrey Dolhopf,
Brian Kozelak and Jason Mucha–assisted Vagnini by holding down the victims, or
turned a blind eye and failed to report obvious abuse to superior officers.
The last of Vagnini’s henchman
were sentenced earlier this month. Their punishments amounted to little more
than community service and fines in the hundreds of dollars.
Each were forced to quit the
police force — after receiving paid leave for months while the investigation
took place.
It’s an all-too-easy punishment
for Vagnini and his fellow officers, said Jonathan Safran, an attorney for one
of the victims.
“I’m not sure if it’s strong
enough,” said Safran in a statement, referring specifically to the sentencing
of Knight.
Safran and others have alleged
that the abuse actually included more officers than just those five.
Vagnini’s lawyer defended his
client by noting that the officer’s tactics were encouraged by the department
as a way to catch and deter drug offenders in Milwaukee.
The police department did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anal cavity searches — a tactic
in U.S. law enforcement’s War on Drugs — are receiving scrutiny from many in
the media this year. New Mexico police are accused of arresting random drivers,
escorting them to hospitals and forcing them to undergo anal surgery — all in pursuit
of drugs.
