PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The remainder of a lawsuit regarding surveillance recordings at Green Bay City Hall has been settled, according to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu — with the city paying the state $200,000.
Green Bay installed the surveillance equipment, which recorded both audio and video, in late 2021 and early 2022. A lawsuit was filed in early 2023. After a circuit court judge ordered a halt to the use of the system, the City Council prohibited audio surveillance.
The case was eventually moved to federal court. Last month, a $100,000 settlement with one of the plaintiffs, former alderman Tony Theisen, was announced.
In a news release Thursday, Sen. LeMahieu said the case was settled.
“Mayor Genrich broke state and federal laws and violated the Constitutional rights of numerous citizens. His actions were so egregious that a federal court took the rare step of stripping Mayor Genrich of qualified immunity. Despite two different courts rulings in the Senate’s favor, and the liberal American Civil Liberties Union condemning his spying, the Mayor still refuses to publicly admit wrongdoing. Regardless, this settlement guarantees that Mayor Genrich will not continue his snooping on citizens in City Hall carrying out their civic duties like paying taxes and voting,” the statement said.
The release includes a statement attributed to Green Bay.
“The City Council has barred the Office of the Mayor from unilaterally implementing a policy of undisclosed audio-and-video surveillance of City Hall. Mayor Genrich and the City Council as presently constituted agree not to renew the prior surveillance policy. Mayor Genrich further agrees that any audio/video surveillance policy that he might in the future propose would require approval from the City Council to take effect,” the statement states.
Federal court records for the case do not show any details of a settlement. The last activity noted was in April. No trial date had been set.
The West Allis Police Department conducted a criminal investigation into the audio surveillance at the request of Brown County District Attorney David Lasee and Green Bay Police. Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney is reviewing the case for potential charges. Toney’s office says the case is still pending and no charging decisions have been made.
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