Stevens Point police chief Martin Skibba (photo courtesy Point/Plover Metrowire)
Stevens Point’s police chief has been on administrative leave for over a week and no one in city government is saying why.
In an editorial posted to the Point-Plover Metrowire, editor in chief Brandi Maskuski says she’s been given the runaround from everyone from the mayor’s office to the police and fire commission.
“Normally you’ll get some kind of comment about ‘no other officers are the target of this investigation’ or ‘the police and fire commission is cooperating with the city attorney on this matter.'” In this instance, we’ve received none of that information.”
Maskuski says she’s trying to find out who other than the police and fire commission had the authority to put Chief Martin Skibba on leave. “Not only are we looking at why the chief has been placed on leave, but right now the bigger story was ‘what was the process taken to place him on leave?'”
So far the only comment from city officials has been that Skibba is under investigation for breaking police department rules. Normally these sorts of actions are taken by the Police and Fire Commission, but that process wasn’t taken ahead of Skibba’s removal.