Crime

Retirement of Shelby policeman puts the town’s law enforcement future in limbo

Published

12 months ago

May 9, 2023

The Town of Shelby, south of La Crosswe, needs to decide how it’s going to provide law enforcement, because its only police officer is preparing to retire.

Members of the Shelby Town Board are discussing a possible referendum, late this year, to ask residents whether they want to maintain a police force, after Officer Sean Horton steps down, or have the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department cover the town.

La Crosse County Sheriff John Siegel said during a Tuesday committee meeting that his department would likely get the roughly 800 calls a year that have gone to Shelby police.

Both the Shelby board and a county law enforcement committee met Tuesday, and discussed options.

Horton has been Shelby’s only officer for a couple of years. Shelby has a population of around 4,700.

A referendum also could be used to authorize funding for an officer, because Shelby is experiencing cuts in state revenue, while local costs are going up.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.