Wausau police report credits naloxone, neighborhood unit for drop in overdoses; warming-center activations shelter dozens during cold snaps

Deputy Chief Bateman told the Public Health and Safety Committee on Jan. 27, 2025 that drug overdose incidents in Wausau fell from 2023 to 2024, and cited increased naloxone availability and expanded work by the Police Department’s Community Resource Unit as likely factors.

Bateman, speaking during the police operations report, said Chief Barnes and local law enforcement leaders have reviewed community concerns about immigration-status enforcement and reiterated the department’s approach: an individual’s immigration status “is not going to impact our desire to wanna serve and help and do the best that we can.” He added that very serious violent crimes remain a separate consideration for law enforcement action and that Chief Barnes has conferred with peers in the Wisconsin Police Executive Group on the topic.

The operations report emphasized neighborhood policing and the Community Resource Unit’s enforcement and outreach: the unit made record drug seizures in 2024 and has played both an enforcement and a case‑management role, Bateman said. He and other council members credited the unit with helping reduce available supply and improving neighborhood conditions.

Bateman and other staff also described operational responses to extreme cold. The police department and partners activated a community-on-call system during frigid weather; Bateman said patrol command staff and officers checked parks, ramps and islands overnight to ensure no one was sheltering in unsafe locations. The department did not encounter anyone during one late‑January night of outreach.

On records and transparency, committee members asked about body‑camera request processing. Bateman said the records bureau has seen a drop in requests but an increase in hours required to prepare footage for release, in part because some incidents involve multiple cameras and require redaction. He said Captain Seiler, who oversees the administrative records function, is trialing enhanced redaction software to speed processing.

Bateman also described an unusually difficult weekend in December when one patrol shift responded to three suicides. He praised officers and supervisors for managing “really difficult calls” and noted supports are in place for staff after traumatic incidents.

Tracy Durante, reporting on community outreach and warming-center activity, said the Good Shepherd Shelter took in 13 new clients in December 2024 and that the shelter recorded 327 unduplicated guests across 2024. Durante said 22 “bed saves” in December were for individuals who had employment but could not secure housing, which she attributed to low housing inventory and barriers such as criminal records or eviction history.

Durante said community-on-call was activated 12 times in January and that partners sheltered 23 people off-site during cold nights. She praised local partner organizations — including Catholic Charities, the Community Partners Campus and volunteer church groups — and noted new partners like the Marty bus provided meals when other services were closed for the Martin Luther King Day holiday.

Durante and committee members warned that the recent loss of a day center increased pressure on overnight sheltering capacity and emphasized the value of partnerships to fill gaps. She said follow-up outreach and second contacts are often needed to learn individuals’ circumstances, and that the intake process at Catholic Charities collects basic demographics and homelessness information but may not capture fuller backgrounds without later contact.

The police operations and community-outreach reports were placed on file by the committee.