Talise Matchopatow
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – There’s a website called Code Blue Cam. They review police bodycam footage. That footage is a public record. The website posts the outrageous behavior of the people that law enforcement officers interact with every day.
One of the videos, from last June, is from Wausau. Police were looking for Talise Matchopatow. A Marathon County judge issued a bench warrant for her arrest when she failed to show up for a court hearing.
Police located her near the homeless encampment on the west side of the Scott Street bridge. An officer called out to her. She ignored him and continued to walk away.
She was eventually stopped. And her behavior was horrible. She yelled at and insulted the officers. She was non-compliant. She spit at one of the officers. She lied about having a sharp on her person, and demanded that a female officer frisk her. She refused lawful commands to put her hands behind her back. At one point she banged her head on the hood of the officer’s squad car. It is a textbook case of how not to act.
Matchopatow is homeless. That in no way excuses her horrible behavior. But it is why she missed her court appearance. Homeless people don’t get mail; and people don’t show up for court hearings they don’t know about.
As the video continues officers took her to the mental health crisis facility, not to jail.
Charges related to her behavior during the arrest were dropped. They either were not filed by the officers or were not prosecuted by the District Attorney’s office.
If you watch the video, you should be outraged by how much abuse officers are expected to take and still act professionally. They did everything right. Many believe a suspect who is this abusive should be charged.
I’m not sure.
She’s homeless. She appears to be mentally ill. She the kind of person who probably needs a roof over her head, regular meals, and medication. Locking those types of people up seems counterproductive.
No matter. Four months later Talise Matchopatow was charged. It’s an inmate battery case. Apparently she was incarcerated, transferred to the Taylor County jail, where she’s now accused of assault. She makes me wonder if some people are beyond help. And if jail is the only alternative.
Chris Conley
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