WILLIAMS BAY — The principal of Whitewater High School allegedly tackled a Williams Bay High School student and put him in a chokehold for toilet-papering his home, police records show.
The students involved told police they had permission from Williams Bay High School to toilet paper designated houses in the neighborhood where Whitewater High School Principal Brent Mansky resides, as part of their Homecoming celebration on Sept. 21. They did not have permission to toilet-paper ManskyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ home, according to Williams Bay Police Department records obtained by ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ in an open records request fulfilled Thursday.
Mansky is also the former principal of Williams Bay High School.
Whitewater Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Caroline Pate-Hefty could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Mansky was not arrested. However, the incident has been forwarded to the Walworth County District AttorneyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Office for review. A police officerÃÛèÖÊÓƵ report noted that ManskyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ actions met criteria for possible criminal charges, including strangulation and/or suffocation.
The mother of one of the two youth involved has asked that Mansky be charged.
The two students were both cited for attempted vandalism and trespassing.
A letter obtained by ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ from Williams Bay Police Chief Justin Timm said that “under ordinary circumstances, our department redacts personally identifiable information of adult victims and witnesses. But, in this instance, the records relate to an adult holding a position of public trust (a public educator) accused of criminal conduct, an adult who is simultaneously accused of criminal activity, and an adult who was the victim of alleged criminal activity that is relatively minor in nature.â€
“When considering these factors under the balancing test, I believe release of Mr. ManskyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ personally identifiable information is required despite his status as a victim of alleged criminal activity, as there is a strong public interest in disclosure of alleged criminal behavior committed by an individual holding a position of public trust.â€
According to the obtained police reports:
After two youth arrived at his home, Mansky called police “for a report of trouble juveniles.†An officer who responded said Mansky reported in the past there's been “kitchen condiments sprayed on his house, beer cans thrown resulting in damage to his siding and now this year toilet paper.â€
Mansky told police he watched the students toilet- paper neighboring houses but didn’t call police at that point. Rather, he watched and “waited until the juveniles reached his personal residence.â€
He told police he had turned off the security cameras on his property because they disrupted his childrenÃÛèÖÊÓƵ sleep.
Mansky additionally complained to police who responded about the “lack of presence of law enforcement†during the sanctioned TP’ing event.
The officer noted that while they spoke, Mansky was holding a dark-colored hoodie. Mansky said he had taken it from one of the students who ran away from him, and he identified the student by name.
The officer then left the scene, but soon returned after Mansky called authorities again and said a vehicle was circling his house. In a search of the area, Mansky and the officer found a black face mask and a cell phone. At that point, Mansky told the officer that this was the area where he had “tackled†the youth wearing the black hoodie.
The officer later noted that Mansky had “failed to mention tackling the suspect†when he’d first responded to the scene.
One of the students involved, in later questioning by a Williams Bay school resource officer, acknowledge that he and another student were “toilet papering houses they had permission to…[when they] branched off and toilet papered ManskyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ house without permission.â€
He said after they threw a roll of toilet paper, “Mansky chased them and tackled [one of the students] across the street in the neighborÃÛèÖÊÓƵ yard. The report said “Mansky dug his fingers in his eyes, picked him up from his neck, strangled and dragged him.â€
The student said “he slipped out of his hooded sweat shirt [sic] and ran away.â€
The school resource officer took a photo of two marks on the neck of the student who was allegedly assaulted. The resource officer noted that the student “had no other marks on his body and no problems with his eyes.â€
In subsequent questioning by the school resource officer, the student reported that Mansky had “picked him up from the front of his shirt and then put him into a headlock.†The juvenile said he “slipped†out of the headlock before Mansky “picked him up from his neck while still in a headlock and started dragging him back to his house.â€
The other student subsequently said “they threw a roll of toilet paper toward a tree and when they went to pick it up, Mansky ran after them.†He said his friend was caught by Mansky as he continued to run into a nearby field. His friend soon caught up and they continued running and then were picked up by a parent.
Police reports also noted that there were other youth and parents in the neighborhood watching the toilet-papering of other homes but not actively participating.
Mansky met with the Williams Bay school resource officer and Williams Bay High School Assistant Principal Will Welch on Sept. 22, the morning after the incident.
A report noted that “Mansky wanted to make an official complaint,†and asked that the two students be charged, expressing frustration for both his house being toilet-papered and what he characterized as a lack of police presence during the sanctioned toilet-papering event.
A father of one of the students also met with the school resource officer and Welch on Sept. 22, expressing how upset he was that Mansky would want children charged for “such a minor thing such as toilet papering.â€
It wasn’t clear Thursday who at Williams Bay High School gave approval to toilet-paper homes, why certain homes were designated as alright to be toilet-papered and the process in which addresses were provided to students.
Whitewater School District response
Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty released a statement on behalf of the Whitewater Unified School District on Friday, Oct. 27:
“The Whitewater Unified School District conducted an investigation into the alleged incident involving Whitewater High School Principal Brent Mansky on September 21 in Williams Bay.
Upon review of all the documentation and statements provided by the Williams Bay Police Department and the Williams Bay School District, we have been able to confirm that only juveniles were issued citations related to the incident. Mr. Mansky was not cited.
Furthermore, based on the documentation, it is clear that the article published in a recent media report did not contain all of the facts, important context and information surrounding the incident in question. Our focus will continue to be on our students and staff. We will continue to give our students the best educational experience. Every Student, Every Day, In a Unified Way.â€
This is an ongoing story that ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ will continue to report on as more details become available.
This story has been updated to include a statement from Superintendent Caroline Pate Hefty.
