The Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff - and as Sheriff Kocourek would go on to repeatedly promote Petersen (See Part One). Ferak's theory is not exactly new to us on TTM, but it's nevertheless toubling to think about. Apparently a social connection to the Hermann family did you wonders in Manitowoc County. ", 19. But I am equally as certain that what I did see, and hear, was more than enough to not only show a preponderance of reasonable doubt, but to convince me that Manitowoc County is replete with corruption. It is sad to see for the world that the state of Wisconsin still lives in isolation and narrow-minded thinking. Oddly, neither of Gina's male companions were injured in the initial motorcycle collision, which suggests perhaps Gina would have survived if not for Petersen striking her with his vehicle at high speed. Bushman then let Hermann drive off with the improperly collected parts in his own personal vehicle (Pg. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, "Wrecking Crew: Demolishing the Case Against Steven Avery", Petersen told reporters Steven "could be a con man", offering to pay for the investigation if another department took over. How did they do it this time? It said it would get involved in the legal dispute between the Manitowoc County Sheriff Department and Steven Avery to reveal police corruption. The boys in the club had once more saved themselves from facing civil liability, just like they did with Gina Hxxxxx (from Part One) and Ricky Hotchstetler (from above). ", 9. Notably, both cadaver dogs and bloodhounds independently made their way to the scene, which meant the burial site was emanating the scent of decomposition as well as Teresa's scent, likely because her decomposing remains were present at the burial site. Although Petersens hire wasn't influenced by the Hermann family, we know his rise within the department was. In 1999 the Hermann brothers (the ones who worked at MCSD) became unofficial suspects in a vehicular homicide of Ricky Hotchstetler, a case for which Sheriff Kocourek named Bushman as lead investigator. How confident are you that Zellner will be able to exonerate Avery? When this shit happens over decades what you're left with is not exactly the crme de la crop. Ferak never suggests Bushman was intoxicated but the thought definitely crossed my mind. Bushmans accident was brought before the County's Accident Review Board, which quickly concluded no action would be taken, and that Sgt. And like others, she expressed concerns that the series and the international reaction are re-opening wounds for Halbach's family. I see him leading a laid-back life and enjoying the solitude. Let's shovel those bones into some boxes and garbage bags and carry on lads.". 76, Wrecking Crew). Bushman was totally unaware he was approaching an intersection, it seems, and was looking in his rear view mirror long enough with such focus that he drove right through the intersection and off the road at highway speed! I couldn't believe Bushman wrote what he wrote in his report of his confrontation with the victim's father - Bushman MCSD Report, Pg. No mention of the accident or fatality can be found Petersens employment file or in any of his promotion notices. Apparently those boundaries are blurred in this case, Meyer said. As for Bushman, he was involved in a questionable single car collision in Sept of 1989. Kocourek wanted underlings who felt indebted to him, who would cover for the department as he covered for them. The image of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department took a major hit afterlastDecember's release of "Making a Murderer" on Netflix, andSheriff Rob Hermann isstillstrugglingtoovercomeperception problems generated by the docu-series. I think if it documented everything correctly and wouldnt have downplayed some of the key points, the response would have been totally different. Everything your pathetic county stands for is forever tarnished with the mockery of justice that was promulgated in that courtroom. Allegedly, the older Hermann brother (instead of driving around all night to different dealerships) took the improperly collected evidence to his familys salvage yard and swapped out the damaged car parts from the scene for older car parts so to redirect the upcoming vehicular homicide investigation away from the Hermann family, their business and vehicles. In PART ONE -. As you might have guessed, Kocourek didn't push Bushman to conduct an investigation that would result in a member of the Hermann family, a member of his own department, being indicted for felony vehicular homicide. The men were convicted in the 2005 homicide of 25-year-old freelance photographer Teresa Halbach. By moving incriminating evidence closer to Steven's trailer and away from the actual scene of Teresa's death. Way before the Hermann brothers were first and third in command; before Teresa, Ricky, or Penny, the Hermann family still had an enormous amount of influence within the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department (MCSD). she asked, referencing Avery's$36 million civil lawsuit against the county for hiswrongful conviction. Indefensible 67m A volunteer for the Manitowoc sheriffs, the same department Avery was suing for wrongful imprisonment, was one of the jurors that put the convicted killer behind bars, OnMilwaukee reported. Petersen's collision in specific was an example of extreme negligence. Here is a link to PART ONE: Fuck-ups, Cover-ups and Promotions, largely concerning Sheriff Kocourek and his repeated promotions to inexperienced new hires, Petersen and Bushman, who both happened to be involved in (separate) grossly negligent on-duty traffic accidents that were quickly swept under the rug by Kocourek. Why would ANYONE want to call this place home?, The nonprofit organization even tried telling commenters its Facebook page wasnt the right place for a discussion about Making a Murderer., We thought the comments would then stop, Meyer said. Barbier said comments havent slowed down despite the departments efforts to redirect them. Next, an officer named Gxxx Schetter was appointed as Hermanns new Undersheriff. Still, sitting with a friend at another local cafe, he joked with his friend about not getting pulled over in Manitowoc County. But we are dealing with the state of Wisconsin, a place I lived and worked at two different times in my life, and for that reason, I would say it's 50-50. You guys will convict anyone for anything without evidence. If Bushman was bold enough to fuck with a crime scene during Rickys hit and run case to help out Hermann, he likely was bold enough to do it again during Teresas case and help out not only Kocourek, but the entire department. Ferak reviewed the Hochstetler hit and run case to, among other things, establish the possibility that Bushman engaged in corrupt conduct by helping disappear pieces of evidence. Why was the DOJ happy to stand aside, and even help clean up? Point being, Bushman was attempting to ice any further discussion about a police cover-up from Ricky's dad, and it seemed to have worked. The desired response was to embarrass the victim's father? You better hope you have a good PR team handy. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible and mainly focus on Bushman and Hermann's mishandling of crime scene evidence, which IMO was done not out of incompetence, but as an attempt by two corrupt officers to cover-up the truth of Ricky's death. Manitowoc County Departments Our purpose is to improve the quality of life in Manitowoc County by providing effective, high quality, and responsive public services that promote the prosperity, self-sufficiency, and well-being of individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Privacy Policy. One thing Ferak does well in "Wrecking Crew" is detail how corruption flourished in the MCSD for decades, eventually becoming a contributing factor to Averys 2007 conviction for Teresa Halbach's murder. "Tell me please, what has Steve Avery done to this community that he deserved to be set up for a murder? The facts are obvious that your department had something to do with this and a cover-up looks to be very clear. So theres some transitive property here. Was Bobby conducting those disturbing searches on the computer recovered from his room, or was it someone else? Kocourek wouldn't easily forget such a favor. Nice job! Ferak reveals that way back in 1978 the Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff of the MCSD (Pg. Although a coroner determined Gina Hxxxxx died before being run over by Petersens squad car, such an opinion would ideally be backed up by a thorough investigation. I'll finish by reviewing how critical the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department was during the discovery, planting, re-discovery and recovery of the bones, and why it's reasonable to believe both the MCSD and Wisconsin DOJ were working together to cover up the truth of Teresa's death via obstruction of justice and the destruction of a crime scene. 153). Does Wisconsin know what JUSTICE is? As far as I can tell, it started with the Hermann father joining the department in 1962, all while remaining president of Cleveland Auto Salvage. Karma is a b.. Notably, neither of the male motorcycle drivers were seriously injured in the initial collision. Unfortunately, I think the film has done a lot of damage and is definitely not the way Manitowoc County would like to be put on the map.. ", 15. She got in there and made some noise, and after Bushman retired, caught Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department in a bold faced lie regarding their investigative efforts, which, among other things, lead to a DOJ criminal investigation of MCSD concerning the allegations that a Hermann brother killed Ricky (an investigation which came to a rather adrupt end). One of the loudest voices in the public conversation about Steven Avery's possible innocence is Kathleen Zellner, Avery's attorney, who was featured on the Netflix documentary series about the Wisconsin murder case, Making a Murderer. Ferak claims to have spoken to many former MCSD employees who said Petersen was driving way over the limit through the fog in a reckless manner. Years later, Kocourek, Bushman and Petersen would all play critical roles in the 1985 wrongful arrest and conviction of Steven Avery, the 1999 Ricky H vehicular homicide case, and the 2005 Teresa Halbach case. "Your entire sheriff dept are the ones who should be tossed in jail It makes me ashamed to be from Wisconsin and you can bet I wont be in a hurry to ever drive past your cesspool of evil. But they were not the most senior department on the scene. Nothing you say will convince vast majority of your citizens that you are good guys. It was getting tainted by the minute.. Thanks Hermann! 162-163). It's a concept that Sean Vandedrinck, 21, of Sturgeon Bay brought up jokingly. I used to think of cranes when I heard the name Manitowoc, not anymore. Part one will focus on Sheriff Kocourek and Sheriff Petersen. When this shit happens over decades what you're left with is not exactly the crme de la crop. But I hope that one day you will perhaps feel the embarrassment and shame that your families will feel and then maybe you will begin to understand that what you do has an (effect) on others. Justice is no longer served to all impartially, but abused and obstructed at will. Brad Dassey has set up a legal defense fund. In this post I've continued with the theme of officers covering up their negligent driving by focusing on another example relating to the Ricky Hotchstetler vehicular homicide case, a death that long ago inspired whispers in the community of a police cover-up, including from Ricky's mom and dad. ", 3. All rights reserved. I will also draw many connections between the Manitowoc County, Calumet County, and the DOJ in the interest of highlighting just how tangled this web is. Bushman) decided to question [Ricky's father] about a statement he made to REDACTED regarding the opinion that police may have been involved in the accident and are attempting to cover it up. It seems Kocourek did everything he could to sweep this under the rug, and quickly: It was determined an inquest into the young womans death was not necessary. 150, 154) is that one of the Hermann brothers struck and killed Ricky and then kept on driving to the familys Salvage Yard in southern Manitowoc County where they crushed and then buried the vehicle responsible for causing Rickys death. But Sheriff Robert Hermann defended the investigators and saidviewers are not seeing the whole story. An examination of the Hermann family's influence on the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department throughout the years, specifically in regards to Kocourek, Petersen and Bushman - all of whom played roles in the 1985 Penny B and 1999 Ricky H cases; and two of whom played critical roles during the 2005 Teresa H case. I'll save that drama for PART THREE: "Thin Blue Lines and Suicides". Steven's lawsuit directly contradicted Attorney General Lautenschlager's report on the 1985 case, the report issued after the first criminal investigation of MCSD in 2003. Although not explicitly stated by Ferak, I imagine the implication here was to question whether or not Gina could have sustained terminal injuries in a collision that barely injured the two others she was with. Talking with residents throughout the city in recent days,it seemed like few had watched the entire series. After failing to find employment in his chosen field Petersen begrudgingly took a retail store job to make ends meet. In short - MCSD did the framing and the DOJ tied up the loose ends, thereby cooperating to orchestrate one of the worst injustices the state of Wisconsin has ever seen - the second wrongful conviction of Steven Avery; the first wrongful conviction of Brendan Dassey; and the continued blight the state of Wisconsin must endure with a murderer very likely walking around free (exactly like when Gregory Allen walking around free after Steven's 1985 case). "Generally speaking, for people who don't know how hard we're working to make Manitowoc a nice place, they would probably drive right by now," Cordovasaid. "Saw your show on Netflix! "I just wanted to reach out with disgust at how your department handled the Steven Avery case. Manitowoc County is now officially on the map for having the most corrupt (law enforcement officers) in the nation, congrats. 78). Just because the Pope said God welcomes sinners doesnt mean the door is open for Manitowoc County I am a Christian woman and am having a very hard time with what I have seen. While Manitowoc County was supposed to have minimal involvement in the case, several deputies, including Andrew Colborn and James Lenk, helped find crucial evidence. There is no question thats what this film did, he said. After the woman was struck by Petersen she was pronounced dead, however a coroner determined the death occurred before she was run over by police. Corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt January B. Wittmann, AZ 0 8 3 12/12/2022 Her criticism echoed thatof other residents, and the prosecutor and law enforcement involved in the case. After working as a bus driver for years Bushman applied to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department in 1974 with no prior experience in law enforcement. The city of Manitowoc Police Department, which has no connection to the sheriffs department, also has been fieldingcalls and comments on its social media accounts from around the world. The latest involved a bomb threat to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office on February 3rd. In a notice of promotion (to Lieutenant) Kocourek said of Bushman (Pg. Among other things, Petersen told reporters Steven "could be a con man" (false and inflammatory) that he burned a cat alive (false and inflammatory) and that if he wasn't convicted of Teresa's murder he would kill AGAIN (speculative and inflammatory). Yellow S. Las Vegas, NV 15 19 2/25/2023 Corrupt police department. Please know that your judicial system looks like you all are unethical, immoral and corrupt. 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