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Madison City police report: K9 supervision, staffing and golf-cart enforcement prioritized
Summary
Chief Rick Mut told the Board of Public Works and Safety that Madison Police have three K9s, assigned Senior Patrolman Andrew Gibbs to supervise the program and expect the teams to be fully functional by mid‑April. He also flagged staffing shortages, new tasers and body cameras, and plans for targeted golf‑cart enforcement.
Chief of Police Rick Mut updated the Board of Public Works and Safety on staffing, equipment and enforcement priorities on March 2.
Chief Mut said the department has three police dogs — two dual-purpose teams and one single-purpose narcotics dog — and has named Senior Patrolman Andrew Gibbs to supervise all three K9 teams. "Senior Patrolman Andrew Gibbs has stepped up and decided he take over the supervision of all three K9 teams," Chief Mut said, and the department expects the teams to be fully functional by mid‑April.
Nut graf: The report balanced equipment, personnel and public-safety procedures. Chief Mut highlighted recent and planned investments — new tasers, body-worn cameras and in-car Panasonic Toughbooks — and described recruitment and training timelines that should fill multiple vacancies this spring.
Staffing and training: Mut said one officer recently completed his field-training program and went on solo patrol, another officer is on maternity leave with expected return later in March, and three recruits are in the police academy (expected to graduate April 24, then complete eight weeks of field training). Mut said that, at times, only three or four officers are on duty and that adding recruits and a full-time detective remain department priorities.
Enforcement priorities: Chief Mut and board members focused on traffic, particularly golf-cart safety. Mut said complaints about golf carts are common and described plans for targeted overtime enforcement and education tied to the city’s permit program. "We want to create some overtime opportunities for guys... to come out and start paying attention to their golf carts," he said. The board noted the city will lift the annual golf-cart permit fee from $25 to $40 on April 1.
Body-worn equipment and recognition: Mut said the department has rolled out new tasers, body cameras and upgraded in-car computers and recognized patrolman Alex Ball for exceptional work on two drug cases that included removing two children from a dangerous situation.
What comes next: Chief Mut said the department will present K9 policies and organizational structure for board consideration at a future meeting and expects additional sworn officers to be field-ready by early summer.
