Wicklund case means extra training for Green Bay police

• Training officers will attend a three-day course on crowd control, then train colleagues
• Charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest for Caledonia man still pending
• Police union criticizes department administration, news media for response

A controversial April arrest that spawned a viral video will have some long-term effects on the Green Bay Police Department, although the officer involved has been cleared of wrongdoing.

Police officials said they will offer additional training in professional communication skills to all the department's officers in the coming year, after determining that better communication could have kept the situation on April 19 in downtown Green Bay from escalating.

The department's training officers will attend a three-day course on crowd control, after which they'll teach the course to the rest of the department.

The department already has used the incident involving Officer Derek Wicklund as a "teaching tool" for its class of new recruits.

The changes were prompted by Wicklund's arrest of Caledonia resident Joshua Wenzel outside Stir-Ups Parlor & Saloon on South Washington Street. A cellphone video shot by a bystander showed Wicklund, 37, taking Wenzel, 29, to the ground and striking him twice with his hand after Wenzel swore at Wicklund and questioned why he was ticketing another man.

Wenzel then was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest; that case is pending in city court.

A police investigation determined that Wicklund did not use excessive force.But the investigation also found room for improvement in the way that Wicklund and some other officers handled the incident.

After recommending that Wicklund and Officer Tom Conley receive additional communications training, the department decided it would be good if more of such training was made available to all patrol officers, said Capt. Bill Galvin.

He was one of four police officials who conducted the investigation into the April arrest.

"A quality verbal skill-set helps an officer deal with a variety of people and situations," he said.

Not everyone agrees that the officers could have handled the incident better.

The leader of the Green Bay Professional Police Association, which represents about 160 officers and detectives, said Wicklund handled the incident appropriately.

"From the beginning, it was clear that Officer Wicklund's actions were justified and reasonable," union President Ryan Meader said in a statement released after the investigation results were announced.

Meader also criticized the police department's administration for a "lack of a proactive response" after video of the arrest was posted, and ripped local news media.

Police officials had the department's five officer-trainees attend the press conference Tuesday on the outcome of the Wicklund investigation. Galvin said the experience helped recruits understand that the decisions they make on the job will be scrutinized by area residents who pay taxes that the city uses for operations, including department expenses.

— dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider