Holmen, Wisconsin, has become a bit of a Mecca in La Crosse County for people seeking an idyllic place to live and raise a family. It is split by the scenic Swift Creek twisting lazily through, while its mini-bluffs provide a cushion between old town and the growing upscale developments.
A year ago, Jacob Hanson, a nearly 15-year police veteran, left the La Crosse County (Wis.) Sheriff’s Department to continue to protect and serve, joining the Holmen Police Department. When interviewed, he shared, “Holmen is my hometown, and although I enjoyed the department I was at, Holmen has proved to be the perfect place for my family and me.”
If you are one of those people who think “nothing ever happens in a small town,” think again. In fact, Holmen is the small town that I have chosen to provide what may be the perfect template for a “Terry stop.”
The stop
Hanson once told me that if he had one thing to tell an officer about effective patrol, it would be, “Avoid being predictable on patrol. Don’t have a habit of being in the same place at the same time. I believe criminals watch us more than we know.”
On December 2, at 3:40 a.m., Hanson was putting this philosophy to the test. While on patrol in Holmen, he pulled up to a stop sign on Linden Lane. He was in an unmarked black police SUV.
As he glanced to the left, he saw two men standing in the middle of the empty post office parking lot. At a glance, his experienced police brain determined there was reasonable suspicion to believe they were about to commit, were committing or had committed a crime because any police officer seeing the same thing would quickly realize:
- They were both dressed identically in black.
- One had a sack slung over his shoulder.
- It was early Monday morning and the post office had been closed since Saturday at noon.
- There were no employee cars yet in the employee parking lot.
- They were not in or near a car of their own.
- When they made eye contact, there was that unwritten communication that said, “Oh no! A cop!” and they both simultaneously bolted in “headlong flight,” as they say in case law.
The suspects fled in a dead sprint away from Hanson, running across the lot, up onto and off the post office loading ramp, cutting around the east side (the rear) of the post office, northbound. Hanson knew this area well and he said, “I called it in and asked for backup. There was nowhere for them to go, so I made a U-turn and paralleled them as they fled. They had to come out on Main Street.”
Knowing his beat, Hanson explained, “I saw one of them had about a 200-yard run to Main Street, so I drove through a yard of an apartment complex and cut him off. He surrendered, so even though I was alone, I handcuffed him without any incident. He remained very cooperative.”
Officers from La Crosse County and Onalaska converged to search the area for the second suspect, who initially disappeared. Shortly thereafter, someone reported a suspicious person hanging around the Be Fit Gym on Highway 53, which is within sight of the post office. Fellow Holmen officers Hintz and Fah hustled over and, on arrival, spotted the suspect, who matched the description of the one that got away.
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This second suspect was also cooperative and was arrested without incident.
When Hanson returned to the scene with the first suspect in custody, the following investigation revealed he had broken up a crime in progress. The two men had broken into the large mailbox in the parking lot of the post office, a few feet away from where Hanson had spotted them.
The men had pried the mailbox open and removed the interior bin containing the mail. On the north side of the post office, officers located the stolen mail and two pry bars. Also located was the black bag one of the men had been carrying, which contained two Glock magazines. One was loaded, but no weapon was found.
The men were charged and incarcerated for possession of burglary tools, breaking into a locked box and being wanted on a felony warrant out of Texas.
The suspects confessed that they had been paid $1,000 by someone to break into the mailbox. According to the deal, they could keep any valuables they found in the mail, but any checks or information the mail revealed would be turned over to their employer to facilitate identity theft.
The power of the Terry stop
The decision to take a closer look at these individuals by a police officer on patrol led to the interruption of a crime in progress, the arrest of two suspects, the recovery of stolen property, and the prevention of great grief and frustration for hundreds of intended victims.
The bin contained possibly 100 or more pieces of mail. Each one represented a potential victim whose cash, checks or identity would be stolen. Thanks to these police officers, not only are the alleged criminals taking responsibility for their actions, but they saved good citizens from becoming victims.
Never underestimate the impact you can have on crime in your community by using the Terry stop as a tool for good.
