Two eastern Wisconsin state senators are praising a settlement from the city of Green Bay regarding the audio recording device scandal.
The city will pay $200,000 to the State Senate after a future declaration by Mayor Eric Genrich and the Green Bay City Council that they will not reinstate the unconstitutional surveillance scheme.
1st District State Senator Andre Jacque of De Pere calls the settlement a “landmark win for protecting our civil liberties, and exactly what we demanded from the very beginning: a guarantee from Mayor Genrich that he will no longer spy on his citizens.”
Jacque continues, “Had Mayor Genrich simply admitted he made a mistake, immediately removed the listening devices, and stopped trying to egregiously invade citizens’ privacy when I first asked him in February 2023, 18 months of costly litigation would not have been necessary.”
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, who also represents a portion of Manitowoc County in Madison, says, “Mayor Genrich broke state and federal laws and violated the Constitutional rights of numerous citizens. His actions were so egregious that a federal court took the rare step of stripping Mayor Genrich of qualified immunity.”
In February, the Wisconsin State Senate sued the city of Green Bay after it was discovered that audio recording devices were installed at city hall.
For the last few months, West Allis Police have been conducting criminal investigations into the audio surveillance at the request of Brown County’s District Attorney.
