Prosecutor Says Secret Pact Was ‘Serious Judgment Error’
A Wisconsin prosecutor says she made a “serious judgment error” when she entered into a secret deferred prosecution agreement with a police officer who backed over his girlfriend.
The state crime victims rights board has reprimanded the prosecutor, District Attorney Jane Kohlwey of Columbia County, for failing to give information about the plea deal to the victim, Sonya Flower, the Portage Daily Register reports.
Flower told the Daily Register that she is scheduled for a second surgery to repair injuries from the incident. “I woke up on a daily basis in severe pain,” she said. “I always asked myself, ‘What did he have to do to get away with running me over?’ “
The police officer, David Riedel, successfully completed terms of the deal and has no criminal record. He currently works as a part-time police officer while Flower works for the Justice Department in Seattle, the Daily Register story says.
Kohlwey told the Baraboo News Republic in an interview that her decision to keep details of the case secret was “a serious judgment error.” The deferred prosecution agreement specified that all copies of the contract would be destroyed after Riedel successfully completed the requirements, and Riedel was never required to enter a plea in open court.
Kohlwey handled the case as a special prosecutor in Sauk County to avoid a conflict of interest because Riedel worked for the county.
In documents filed with the crime victims board, Kohlwey said she thought there were some things missing from the investigation and she was concerned about Flower’s reliabilty as a witness.
Kohlwey says she can’t remember why the plea was never made in open court, but she regrets her decision to keep the agreement a secret. “I’ve learned from that,” she told the Baraboo News Republic. “I will never agree to that [again]. I’ve never since or before that agreed to any such thing.”
But she endorses secrecy in another case. She said the media should not have publicized the private reprimand she received from the crime victims board.
