PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green Bay officials call the request for a temporary restraining order halting use of security devices which record audio “odd,” in a brief filed Wednesday afternoon, the day before a judge hears the case. Additionally, the brief offers new details on the incidents which led to the installation of the devices.
The Wisconsin State Senate, Sen. Andre Jacque, former Ald. Tony Theisen, and an unidentified resident filed suit, alleging the surveillance violates the law and Constitution. They have asked for a temporary restraining order halting its use while the lawsuit proceeds. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning before Judge Marc Hammer.
In a 17-page brief opposing the restraining order, Kyle Engelke, who represents Green Bay, says “This is an odd “emergency ” request for a temporary restraining order.”
“It has been filed by four plaintiffs, none of whom asserts that the City of Green Bay (the “City ”) has actually invaded their privacy by recording their conversations in City Hall or threatens to do so anytime soon. At least some of the plaintiffs seem to have been aware of the City’s recording program for months but puzzlingly waited until now to declare an “emergency” that requires immediate, emergency relief from the Court. And, counterintuitively, the plaintiffs rest their claims on the supposed right to privacy in a quintessential public place: open hallways in Green Bay’s City Hall. After clearing away the exaggerated, inflammatory rhetoric about “bugging” and “eavesdropping,” all that remains is a policy disagreement over an unexceptional surveillance program designed to ensure public safety in a few sensitive locations in a single government building,” the brief states.
The city also claims the plaintiffs fail to meet the standards required for a temporary restraining order to be granted.
“Among the numerous fatal defects to their motion are the fact that the plaintiffs lack standing, have not shown an imminent and irreparable harm, fail to show a reasonable chance of success on the merits, and seek to completely upend rather than preserve the status quo, accordingly, their motion for a temporary restraining order must be denied,” it states.
The brief states the idea for the devices to record audio was the suggestion of the city’s IT director after three incidents:
In June 2021, a staff member from the City Attorney’s office said three members of the public verbally assaulted her following a public meeting. “The staff member said that she felt threatened to the point that her personal safety was at risk and asked for something to be done to protect her and other staff,” the brief states.
In November, 2021, a staff member of the Green Bay Press-Gazette was “isolated, threatened, and verbally assaulted by members of the public in the hallway of the second floor of City Hall after a City Council meeting.”
In April 2022, as someone was delivering an absentee ballot, a member the public verbally assaulted a staff member about the voter.
The brief notes an email was sent to all city employees on Dec. 9, 2021, informing them of the recording devices on the second floor, outside the council chambers. Another device was added outside the first-floor clerk’s office after the April 2022 incident.
The brief also questions if the plaintiffs met the legal requirements for notice to the city and for filing the case in a timely manner.
The city asks for the temporary restraining order to be denied.
This issue has caused controversy and debate since Alderperson Chris Wery confronted Genrich about the recording devices during a February 7 city council meeting. Most city council members say they first learned of the microphones at that meeting.
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