As previously reported on our Blog here, several Milwaukee Police Department (“MPD”) officers are criminally charged with conducting illegal strip searches and illegal body cavity searches. On Monday, April 22, 2013, MPD Officer Michael Vagnini, who faced the most charges as well as the most serious charges, pleaded no contest to eight charges, 4 felony charges of misconduct in public office and 4 misdemeanor charges of conducting illegal searches. Officer Vagnini will be sentenced in late June, where the Milwaukee County District Attorney will recommend prison time. MPD Officers Jeffrey Dollhopf, Brian Kozelek and Jacob Knight also face criminal charges for conducting illegal searches. Their trial is scheduled to begin on June 3, 2013. Read more about the illegal search cases against the MPD officers in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.
The Milwaukee civil rights lawyers of Samster, Konkel & Safran are pleased that Officer Vagnini is being held criminally accountable for conducting the illegal searches. We represent several victims of the illegal searches, and we will continue to monitor the pending criminal cases against the other MPD officers accused of conducting illegal searches.
