A Green Bay Police Officer has resigned following an internal investigation where he is accused of falsifying police reports.
Officer Michael Rahn resigned on March 28th in lieu of charges for removal being filed with the Commission, and is no longer a member of the Green Bay Police Department. He was formerly a night watch patrol officer for 3.5 years.
This all stems from an incident on Tuesday February 28, 2017, where the Professional Standards division received a use of force alert for a use of force incident. The use of force alert is designed to alert the Professional Standards and other Command Staff of all use of force incidents involving Green Bay Police Department officers.
This alert acts as a notification for use of force incidents, as well as an early warning system for use of force issues such as training or application of force concerns, by timely bringing all incidents to Command Staff’s attention.
While reviewing this particular incident, police found there were inconsistencies between the Officer Rahn's use of force report and the his details in the case file, as well as inconsistencies between his details and details from the other officers. Upon review of the squad cam video from the incident, it was discovered that the details in the case report and use of force reports did not match what was depicted on the video.
The Professional Standards Division met with Chief Andrew Smith and others from the Command Staff and informed them of the findings, at which time Chief Smith ordered an internal investigation into this matter by the Professional Standards Division.
On March 3rd, the Police Department met with District Attorney Lasee to notify him of this investigation. At that time, the Police Department informed D.A. Lasee of the inconsistencies in the reporting of the incident, and conveyed its concern that Officer Michael Rahn may have provided false information in his official police report.
As a result, D.A. Lasee determined that Officer Rahn would not be called as a witness in any case until the conclusion of the internal investigation. D.A. Lasee also determined that all charges related to the incident would be dropped.
As of March 3, 2017, in compliance with GBPD policy the officer was placed on Administrative Duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
In addition, the officer was removed from positions requiring him to have contact with the public.
Officer Rahn was interviewed by the Professional Standards Division on March 16th and again on March 20th. Based on these interviews, Officer Rahn was placed on Administrative Leave on March 22nd, at which time his gun, badge, and police ID were removed along with his police powers.
As a result of the discrepancies in the documentation of this report, more than 300 cases that Officer Rahn was involved in over his 3.5 year career are being reviewed.
Both the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations have been made aware of this matter and will be assisting with a criminal investigation into this officer’s actions.
