In the first segment of this look at an incident four years back which shown a side of Sheriff candidate Kim Cole that has rarely been seen, we had the court documents that a Martin Schilling filed alleging 3-5 violations of the Fourth Amendment by Sergeant Cole on February 25, 2008   Cole 'sLaw

                Cole 'sLaw Lovers: Former MCS Englebrecht, Hartrum, Stewart, and Sgt. Cole 

With a subsequent FOIA to the Mason County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) we have gotten back the other side of this case:  the police reports, interviews with Martin (and Kyle) Schilling, and a variety of other records.  Let's start with the police report filed by Kim Cole as to his version of what happened that early morning, then early afternoon.

Many may look at the first stop, and say that Sgt. Cole did not do anything wrong.  That is in itself incorrect, as he used his powers as a police officer to stop Martin Schilling going about in his car, without having any probable cause to do so.  Sgt. Cole says:  "I then stopped his vehicle on Campbell Rd....", he then asks Martin where his son was and many other questions/comments about what was going on with his son-- but never told Martin the reason why he stopped him, which seems to have been just to interrogate him.  Martin Schilling was well within his rights to just answer every question with "Am I free to go?" "I'm going to remain silent."  By Sgt. Cole's own narrative, he stopped the vehicle without reasonable suspicion that Martin had, or was going to, commit a crime, or that he had violated any traffic law.

But police officers are entitled to one mulligan occasionally; unfortunately, the second encounter was even more violative of Martin's rights.  The bottom of the above explains that Sgt. Cole once again stopped Martin's vehicle via a traffic stop.  Using that terminology gets him in some trouble, for once again, Martin had made no violation of traffic laws; if Sgt. Cole had said he stopped the vehicle because he thought a fugitive was inside, that would be likely seen as a legit cause in court.  Page 2:

This is where Kim Cole's actions go beyond the pale.  Martin is stopped and told to show Kim his hands.  He complies.  He is told to put his hands on the 'hood' of the vehicle.  He complies, correcting the officer's verbal flub.  Martin has done nothing against the law, nor is there cause that he may.  Cole's narrative:   "He looked at me and with an arrogant tone stated "that's not a hood, it's a roof.  I then secured him by handcuffing him, hands behind his back, with the cuffs double locked and contacted the detective bureau.  I was told to bring him in for an interview."

If you are OK with police tactics like this, then vote for Cole.  If you are appalled at a man being stopped twice unlawfully, then humiliated by getting handcuffed and taken in for questioning for no reason-- if you, like Sheriff Fiers, cannot defend these police actions-- then I suggest you work hard to stop Cole from getting elected to a position where he will endorse his officers doing such actions.

For he has never publicly acknowledged that he has done anything wrong; quite the opposite, in this letter from his old boss Laud Hartrum, his actions were... "lauded".

Kim Cole indicated that he would be filing suit against Martin Schilling???  For what, correcting his car part gaffe?  Is this the type of temperament we want as Sheriff of Mason County?

Here's another thing that bothers me in this case.  This document here says that Kyle Schilling was arrested at 1300 on Feb. 25., and yet This record  says they didn't start interviewing Martin until 1330, a half hour after Kyle was in custody.  They don't apprise Martin of that fact.   Detective Kenney then has a long talk with Martin, 41 pages of transcribed interview, here's page one , page seventeen where they discuss the first stop, with Det. Kenney saying it's a lot safer environment on a traffic stop than it is coming to your house (?!), page thirty-four where Martin asks whether he will be cuffed again when he's taken back to his vehicle, and Kenney joking 'not unless you want to be'.  I think I would not have found that very funny at that point.

Lastly, I think this truly shows how bad the Mason County Sheriff's Office was back in 2008  under Laud Hartrum.  Supplementing his October letter above, this warrant request shows they tried to get Martin Schilling arrested for Harboring/Concealing a fugitive for his actions on 2-25-2008.

Note the date is loosely penned in "Tot Pros 4-16-08" making one think they got it to the Prosecutor on April 16.  But the reply by the Prosecutor Susan Kasley Sniegowski is dated 7-1-2008 and has the MCSO 'received' date of 7-2-2008.  Telling why  MCL 750.199(3)(a&b) does not apply:

The media releases by the MCSO at the time of the settlement said:  " He was released about an hour and a half later. Law enforcement officers requested a warrant for Schilling to be charged with a crime not specified in the filing. The Mason County Prosecutor’s Office denied that request."   One would think the warrant was requested and denied while they had retained Martin Schilling, reading this.  Over four months later that request was denied.  Four months after the fact.

What precipitated that warrant being issued?  Maybe it was Martin's filling of a lawsuit in May of 2008 (in that four month period) about false arrest and illegal search and seizure.

It has one ask the questions.  Why did the MCSO not request a warrant, put it before the Prosecutor, until after they were served with a lawsuit that declares there were unlawful detainments, seizures, and arrests?  How could the MCSO justify the Harboring a fugitive charge in the above manner when there was no such harboring or concealment?  And how, in October, can both Sheriff Hartrum, and Sergeant Cole trumpet that Cole will sue a man that did nothing wrong other than stand up for his rights and sue the County a half year previous?

And Sergeant Cole, how's that countersuit working out for you?  I only see here a Sheriff's Office drowning in its own corruption, and lacking any sort of consideration for the rights of a Mason County Citizen, innocent of doing anything wrong in this situation involving his son.  If you want the MCSO to operate this way, then by all means vote for Kim Cole.  If you want someone who actually respects the Constitution, never defended the MCSO's actions in this sordid affair, and considers himself a servant to the public (not vice versa), then vote for Jeff Fiers. 

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Another interesting tidbit I noticed this evening.  At Sergeant Cole's campaign website he originally was offering helpful tips, such as this one that involved what to do when you have been stopped for a traffic offense:

What should you do before and during a traffic stop?

Look for a safe place to stop you car while indicating your intention to stop with your turn signal.
Turn off your engine and roll down the window.
Leave your seat belt on.
Ask your passengers to quietly observe the situation without making comments or confusing the issue.
Recognize that there will be a short delay before the officer approaches the car; they are probably checking the plate information to see if it matches the car.
Put your hands where the officer can see them: on top of the steering wheel; it puts everyone at ease.
Wait for the officer to explain the situation before you act; listen for the next steps and respond accordingly.
Try to have all the vehicle documentation up-to-date and readily available before you begin any trip.
Ask questions; the officer will be happy to answer them.
Be sure you understand all the issues of the situation while the officer is available to help you.

 

Let's review:  According to Sgt. Cole's own narrative Martin Schilling was first stopped by Kim Cole in 2008, the officer never explained the situation, just carried on an interrogation on someone he didn't suspect had, or was going to, break the law.

The second time Cole stopped him, he  told Martin to show his hands, get out of the car, and then to put his hands on the 'hood' of the car.  He complied, and was subsequently cuffed, arrested, and questioned even though he had broke no law.  Apparently, correcting Kim Cole in an arrogant tone did not follow Cole's protocols. 

Well, after seeing a lot of posts from you on here, I imagine you think it's okay that Mr Schillings son tried to kill Deputy Davila the day before, so it's pretty hard to take your posts seriously.

 

And last I checked, harboring a fugitive is a crime...so he did suspect Mr Schilling had broken, or was going to, break the law.

Torchstalker,

Please explain, as you understand what events happened, how Kyle Schilling tried to kill Deputy Davila the day before; I have that report too. 

In my America, that is a bit of slanderous hearsay, and you should be ashamed of yourself, Sir or Ma'am.  

If you have no respect for the rights of the presumed innocent, I will remind you that you have the right to vote for someone with similar views.  Kim Cole. 

Johanna, are you affiliated in some way with either of the men for Sheriff?

Your passion to find fault with Cole just had me wondering what the driving force was behind it.

I started following the Sheriff campaign when I read about Sheriff Fier changing parties. Changing parties is not a crime, but it did catch my interest. My sister lives in Muskegon and my brother lives in Wisconsin. So they will not be voting on any Mason County  issues.


My background is in Military Intelligence. I tend to read between the lines when there is more than meets the eye.

I don't understand what Kim Cole did to make you feel this way. If this traffic stop and arrest is the worst you can dig up on him, he is doing good.

True there is nothing wrong with changing parties. Many people do it. Senator Lieberman became an Independent when he realized he could not get elected as a Democrat.

Just out of curiosity, what's that on Cole's left wrist in this cuddly picture? A UNION Budda bracelet? Or some kind of love handcuffs? A dedicated Sheriff needs to be prompt and timely, requiring a  wrist watch, not some adornment for entertainment,...imo. The only passion I see with threads like this isn't so much to have driving force for negative posting, as much as it is to expose and uncover ALL the Truths about a candidate(s), so the voters are informed, not intimidated and fooled, again. If anyone with Military Intelligence background is so intrigued and astounded with a candidate simply changing party affiliation, I hate to think what per se he was observing and studying in Military Intelligence for mercy's sake that was as important, and costing us taxpayers that kind of high pay to observe and report back on. What was it anyhow? What comes first? The chicken or the egg? LOL.

Johanna,

I noticed that exact bracelet goes for $4.90 on Amazon, and he's selling it for only $25 at his website.  What a bargain, only a little over 5 times more than what he can get them for. 

Johanna, is it possible that your name is really Kathy?

It is America and the thing that makes it great is OUR choice , I personally like both Kim and Jeff . I think this is an attack by one of the many supporters of the current Sheriff in the Walhalla area more then likely Mr. Schilling so I just consider the source and dismiss it. Being a cop has to be a hard job , few like you until they need you. And like my grandpa said everytime you point a finger there are 3 pointing back . So put yourself in the officers shoes and think about how you might have handled the situation.probably no different the Sgt. Cole did. Its a tough job.

Let me get this right, Schilling's son was wanted on a felony warrant. Schilling knew where his son was, but lied about it on more than one occasion. Even after the detectives saw Schilling with his son, he lied about it again. Sgt. Cole had good reason to suspect that Schilling knew where his son was. Due to the relationship with his son, I believe Sgt. Cole had every right to pull over Schilling. Schilling lied to law enforcement about his knowledge of the location of a person wanted on a felony warrant.

HI Phil

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