Columbia County Refusal to Prosecute
Due to the countless number of lies that Waupaca County DA Turner had provided - Columbia County DA, Brenda Yaskal, decided that she wasn’t going to prosecute any cases that I was associated with. Now, just for clarification purposes, this isn’t required or recommended. The only thing that is legally and ethically obligated with Brady/Giglio is to notify the defense of the officer “dishonesty” and then it is up to the defense to prove that it is relevant in their particular case. In talking with union representatives from the WPPA, I learned that this type of action being taken by a DA is almost unheard of - and that Brady is often times used for politics.
It was in November of 2025 when DA Yaskal informed my Poynette Police Chief that she wasn’t going to be prosecuting any of my cases. My Chief, knowing darn well that this was political, decided to keep me on the active roster as a police officer. Well, in the upcoming weeks, I would have two very big cases, both involving children, that wouldn’t be charged due to this malfeasance.
As a result, I had to file a lawsuit, called a Writ of Mandamus, against Columbia County DA Yaskal, asking the Circuit Court to intervene with this. I wanted the Circuit Court to look into this before I was forced to leave my employment with Poynette PD. Of course, the courts declined to review my case on an emergency type basis and I ultimately had to resign from Poynette PD. I didn’t violate any policies, procedures, laws, etc. I simply couldn’t do my job because the DA refused to prosecute my cases.
This matter is still currently pending in the Columbia County Circuit Court. See details below: