PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A former Green Bay alderman filed a lawsuit against the city and its mayor this week, claiming the now-removed surveillance microphones in city hall hallways were a “serious invasion of privacy” and his Fourth Amendment rights.
Green Bay installed the surveillance equipment, which recorded both audio and video, in late 2021 and early 2022. A previous lawsuit over the surveillance microphones was settled in 2024. While the city maintained it was a standard surveillance system installed for public safety, a judge ordered a halt to the use of the system, and the city council voted to prohibit audio surveillance.
Chris Wery filed the new lawsuit in Brown County court on Monday against Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and the City of Green Bay.
Mayor Genrich’s decision, in concert with others, to deploy covert audio surveillance inside Green Bay City Hall is a profound breach of settled law and basic expectations of privacy. Wisconsin law makes clear that the interception and recording of oral communications through electronic devices is unlawful absent strict statutory compliance. The clandestine use of such technology by government officials is not merely an administrative misstep — it constitutes a serious invasion of privacy and an affront to constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
The former alderman’s lawsuit asserts the mayor and city’s actions violated Wisconsin’s Electronic Surveillance Control Law, which prohibits the unlawful interception of oral communications, and Wisconsin’s statutory right to privacy.
Genrich’s administration has maintained there is no expectation of privacy in the hallways.
Wery claims the devices intercepted private conversations that otherwise would not have been overheard. He alleges that conversations in the hallways often included discussions between council members and constituents, attorney-client communications, off-the-record conversations with reporters, and personal or political discussions.
Wery states he personally engaged in numerous private conversations in these hallways, including discussions with staff, constituents, fellow aldermen, and his own legal counsel. He asserts that he did not consent to the recording of these conversations and that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy when engaging in them.
Wery contends the secret audio surveillance constituted a “highly offensive” intrusion into his private communications and that the defendants had no lawful authority to record them. He further alleges Mayor Genrich’s conduct was intentional and aimed at monitoring conversations, including those involving people the mayor “considered political enemies.”
A city spokesperson says per city policy, they cannot comment on the pending litigation.
When the initial lawsuit was settled in 2024, the law firm which represented Green Bay said, “The city maintains its actions were lawful and were undertaken with the safety and security of city staff and members of the public in mind.”
Wery’s lawsuit states he seeks compensatory, nominal, and punitive damages under both state and federal law, as well as attorney’s fees and litigation costs. Wery has also demanded a trial by a 12-person jury and requests any additional relief the court deems appropriate.
According to online court records, no hearing has been scheduled in the lawsuit.
Wery resigned from the council last year because he was moving out of his district.
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