Transform Dane
PO Box 95 – Madison, WI 53701
info@transformdane.com
Statement on Madison Police Internal Investigation
Addressing ethics, transparency and MPD conduct concerns
[MADISON, WI, 10/16/2025]
Today, October 16, 2025, the Madison Police Department (MPD) released records from their Professional Standards & Internal Investigations unit confirming the illegal release of firearms by an active MPD employee to a private citizen in the Dane County community.
The release of these records were the result of over a year of legal pressure from independent members of Transform Dane. These efforts included the initiation of a federal lawsuit and mandamus action in the Dane County Circuit Court. In response to inquiries on this topic, MPD released a single document. This letter concluded the employee engaged in the alleged actions, however their own investigation concluded no MPD policy violation occurred.
This document can be found here.
Background
In May 2024, several firearms were released to a Madison resident by an active member of MPD. The MPD officer had stored the firearms in their shoe locker for safekeeping. They were returned to this individual without following any police procedures for releasing firearms and delivered directly to the individual’s residence.
Under WI 941.2905, it is a Class G felony to intentionally furnish firearms to someone that is known to be prohibited from possessing them. In this situation, the officer had a personal, close relationship with the individual and was acutely aware of an expired Chapter 51 status that prohibited possession. The Madison resident was charged with felony possession of the same firearms supplied by this officer in July 2024. They were located by MPD in his secured residence, “field stripped” and unloaded.
Despite the confirmed criminal activity of the employee, MPD chose to investigate themselves quietly. The information on the source of the firearms was not included in discovery paperwork (police reports) submitted to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office. In the meantime, MPD charged the recipient of the firearms with “stalking” the MPD employee in an apparent attempt to intimidate him and suppress the misconduct. This charge was never substantiated and was fully dismissed by the Dane County District Attorney in 2025.
About Transform Dane
Transform Dane was founded in September 2024 as a direct result of serious concerns over the manner transgender and gender non-conforming inmates in Dane County Jail (DCJ) are treated and housed. The basis for this outcry in our earliest days was cofounder Eli’s long-term placement in DCJ “seg” (solitary confinement in the form of a “holding cell”). While there, he was denied basic access to hygiene (shower, toothbrush, soap, clothing), any form of human contact, and the vast majority of any property or living conditions that 99% of other DCJ inmates receive.
The longest portion of his time in “seg” with the most severe, inexplicable, and inhumane conditions originated from the fabricated “stalking” charge and the withholding of the firearms information. A single crime was sustained out of the entire basis for that period of incarceration.
Transform Dane continues to advocate for incarceration reforms and the end to solitary confinement for all human beings. However, it is impossible for us as an organization to remain silent on this legal matter that was at the very core of our founding.
Eli was a pre-trial detainee at the time of his inhumane treatment in DCJ, meaning he had no criminal convictions. It is a direct violation of the Constitutional rights on which this nation was founded to apply punitive incarceration measures before a conviction is obtained. This is but one (albeit extreme) example as to why.
We have redacted the officer’s name from our press release, out of respect to a complex situation we believe arose from the epidemic of mental health and addiction struggles that plague our first responder and military communities. We do so in acknowledgement that in no way was the same grace given to Eli, whose exposure to the criminal justice system and incarceration emerged from that same epidemic.
Please route all media or legal inquiries to the contact information provided above. This matter has been referred to the Madison Police Independent Oversight Committee for further review.