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Waupaca County Post

November 10, 2005

Kirk Named President of Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers Association

By Robert Cloud, Post Editor

Waupaca Police Sgt. James Kirk was elected president of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers Association at its annual board meeting on Oct. 22.

Kirk will serve a two-year term, leading a state-wide organization with about 3,000 members.

Kirk said membership in the organization is open to anyone involved in the law enforcement field, including police officers, 911 operators, DNR wardens, district attorneys, judges and firefighters.

The group provides assistance to the families of officers who are killed in the line of duty. It also provides a campground for members, located on 40 acres seven miles east of Waupaca, as well as sponsoring an annual field trip to Washington, D.C., for middle school students, and six scholarships annually for members’ children who are pursuing a career in law enforcement. The group also gives $200 savings bonds to retirees who have been members for at least 10 years and $400 savings bonds to retirees who have been members for 20 years.

Each year, the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers Association holds a golf tournament to raise funds for its various programs. For the past three years, the tournament has been held in Waupaca County.

The organization also lobbies in Madison on behalf of law enforcement. Currently, the group is pushing for passage of a state bill that would allow officers to make traffic stops when they see motorists without seat belts.

“Right now, an officer cannot stop a person for not wearing a seat belt. We have to have other circumstances to make a stop,” Kirk said. “We feel that it’s a safety issue, especially when it comes to children not being buckled in.”

Prior to his election as president, Kirk served four years as the organization’s vice president. In 1999, he was appointed to be a district director, representing 15 counties in central Wisconsin.

Kirk is the third officer from Waupaca County to serve as president of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers Association.

When Kirk first became a member in 1986, Fred Rasmussen was the chief of police in Waupaca. Rasmussen was president of the state group from 1977 to 1981. He currently is the District 11 director, representing retired officers.

Al Kraeger, chief deputy of the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department, was the association’s president from 1995 to 1999.