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| MAID of the Earth Cleaning Service Rock, Dane, Walworth 608-449-3848 |
Zimmermann 911 tapes could be made public sooner
Wisconsin (TCT) - In the wake of bits and pieces of the 911 call made
by slain UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann being made public,
lawyers for media interests on Tuesday asked a Dane County judge for
an immediate hearing to make the tape of the call public, even if that
hearing had to be held over the phone.
Dane County officials signaled Tuesday they did not oppose the
hearing, but Madison police and the Dane County District Attorney's
Office gave a different answer.
by slain UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann being made public,
lawyers for media interests on Tuesday asked a Dane County judge for
an immediate hearing to make the tape of the call public, even if that
hearing had to be held over the phone.
Dane County officials signaled Tuesday they did not oppose the
hearing, but Madison police and the Dane County District Attorney's
Office gave a different answer.
"We do not want the 911 audio tape released. We believe that tape is still pertinent to the investigation,"
said Joel DeSpain, a spokesperson for the Madison police department. "We do not want that tape
released."
On Monday, the Wisconsin State Journal first obtained copies of search warrants that had repeatedly been
sealed, therefore preventing them from being viewed by the media or the public, by the Dane County District
Attorney's Office and Madison detectives investigating the Zimmermann homicide case. Once those
warrants were obtained, their contents were made public.
The search warrants provided the first glimpse into two previously unknown components of the Zimmermann
case, specifically the fact that she died after being repeatedly stabbed in the heart and strangled and that
screams and a struggle could be heard on the 911 call she made prior to her death on April 2.
The fact that a Madison detective detailed portions of the 911 call on a search warrant contradicts an
investigation conducted in May by the 911 center into one of their dispatcher's failure to call Zimmermann
back after the call was dropped. That investigation concluded that no evidence could be found that the
dispatcher heard anything that indicted an emergency was occurring. The dispatcher who took the call has
not been employed at the 911 Center since April 13. A press release issued by Kathy Krusiec, the interim
director of the 911 Center, said she anticipated the disciplinary proceedings associated with the dispatcher
who failed to dispatch police or call back Zimmermann's phone to be completed this month.
The motion, filed in Dane County Circuit Court by Green Bay attorney Gregory Conway, cited the release of
the search warrants as a reason for requesting the entire 911 tape, as well as investigation reports and
e-mails, be released to the public through the media outlets. The motion stated the recent turn of events
"make it apparent that there is no longer any credible argument whatsoever in support of the county's refusal
to release the records requested in this case."
The motion further states that the information now should be released because a Madison police captain
publicly said the release of the information would not significantly affect the ongoing criminal investigation.
Capt. Mary Schauf, whose district included the West Doty home that Zimmermann and her finance were
renting at the time of her death, said there is a difference between airing the contents of the warrants and the
contents of the 911 tape.
"If they are quoting me (in the motion), then they are not quoting me properly," she said. "That tape is still
evidence, and it should not be released."
She added that the release of the warrants do not compromise the investigation because the investigation
has already moved past the potential suspects listed in the warrants.
"You can't lump the warrants and the 911 tape together," Schauf said. "That tape needs to be preserved as
evidence."
A press release from the Madison Police Department said the public airing of these formerly sealed
documents was not sought by the department, and it would have been preferable, from an investigative
standpoint, that they would have remained sealed.
"The failure to seek additional extensions for a seal was an oversight by the Madison Police Department and
the Dane County District Attorney's Office," the release said.
Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell said he believed it was time for the contents of the 911 call to be
made public.
"If you have this much information already out, why not have all of it out," McDonell said. "If it can't be
released, I want to know why."
said Joel DeSpain, a spokesperson for the Madison police department. "We do not want that tape
released."
On Monday, the Wisconsin State Journal first obtained copies of search warrants that had repeatedly been
sealed, therefore preventing them from being viewed by the media or the public, by the Dane County District
Attorney's Office and Madison detectives investigating the Zimmermann homicide case. Once those
warrants were obtained, their contents were made public.
The search warrants provided the first glimpse into two previously unknown components of the Zimmermann
case, specifically the fact that she died after being repeatedly stabbed in the heart and strangled and that
screams and a struggle could be heard on the 911 call she made prior to her death on April 2.
The fact that a Madison detective detailed portions of the 911 call on a search warrant contradicts an
investigation conducted in May by the 911 center into one of their dispatcher's failure to call Zimmermann
back after the call was dropped. That investigation concluded that no evidence could be found that the
dispatcher heard anything that indicted an emergency was occurring. The dispatcher who took the call has
not been employed at the 911 Center since April 13. A press release issued by Kathy Krusiec, the interim
director of the 911 Center, said she anticipated the disciplinary proceedings associated with the dispatcher
who failed to dispatch police or call back Zimmermann's phone to be completed this month.
The motion, filed in Dane County Circuit Court by Green Bay attorney Gregory Conway, cited the release of
the search warrants as a reason for requesting the entire 911 tape, as well as investigation reports and
e-mails, be released to the public through the media outlets. The motion stated the recent turn of events
"make it apparent that there is no longer any credible argument whatsoever in support of the county's refusal
to release the records requested in this case."
The motion further states that the information now should be released because a Madison police captain
publicly said the release of the information would not significantly affect the ongoing criminal investigation.
Capt. Mary Schauf, whose district included the West Doty home that Zimmermann and her finance were
renting at the time of her death, said there is a difference between airing the contents of the warrants and the
contents of the 911 tape.
"If they are quoting me (in the motion), then they are not quoting me properly," she said. "That tape is still
evidence, and it should not be released."
She added that the release of the warrants do not compromise the investigation because the investigation
has already moved past the potential suspects listed in the warrants.
"You can't lump the warrants and the 911 tape together," Schauf said. "That tape needs to be preserved as
evidence."
A press release from the Madison Police Department said the public airing of these formerly sealed
documents was not sought by the department, and it would have been preferable, from an investigative
standpoint, that they would have remained sealed.
"The failure to seek additional extensions for a seal was an oversight by the Madison Police Department and
the Dane County District Attorney's Office," the release said.
Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell said he believed it was time for the contents of the 911 call to be
made public.
"If you have this much information already out, why not have all of it out," McDonell said. "If it can't be
released, I want to know why."
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