DARLINGTON - An Argyle man used excessive force while on duty as a state park ranger in a dispute last summer over a vehicle sticker, according to a criminal complaint filed this week in Lafayette County Circuit Court.
Bernard Mark Garvey, 52, faces a Class A misdemeanor charge of endangering safety by intentionally pointing a firearm at a parkgoer on June 18 in Yellowstone State Park, near the town of Fayette. If convicted, he could be fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to nine months.
According to a Wisconsin Capitol Police detective's investigation, filed with the criminal complaint on Monday, Feb. 27:
Garvey arrested and handcuffed a male park visitor who arrived on a motorcycle without a state-issued park sticker, even though the situation reportedly didn't warrant force.
When the man slipped the handcuffs to the front of his body and questioned why he was being arrested, Garvey pointed his state-issued gun at him, touching the barrel to the man's helmet chin guard, and threatened, "Give me a reason."
The correct procedure for dealing with a vehicle without a sticker would have been to issue a courtesy notice and then, if the owner failed to buy one, a citation.
Garvey's first court appearance is scheduled for April 2.
Bernard Mark Garvey, 52, faces a Class A misdemeanor charge of endangering safety by intentionally pointing a firearm at a parkgoer on June 18 in Yellowstone State Park, near the town of Fayette. If convicted, he could be fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to nine months.
According to a Wisconsin Capitol Police detective's investigation, filed with the criminal complaint on Monday, Feb. 27:
Garvey arrested and handcuffed a male park visitor who arrived on a motorcycle without a state-issued park sticker, even though the situation reportedly didn't warrant force.
When the man slipped the handcuffs to the front of his body and questioned why he was being arrested, Garvey pointed his state-issued gun at him, touching the barrel to the man's helmet chin guard, and threatened, "Give me a reason."
The correct procedure for dealing with a vehicle without a sticker would have been to issue a courtesy notice and then, if the owner failed to buy one, a citation.
Garvey's first court appearance is scheduled for April 2.