The city of Madison plans to appeal a judge's dismissal of a disorderly conduct citation against a participant in last June's World Naked Bike Ride in Madison.
As Isthmus reported ("The Naked Truth," 11/12/10), Madison Municipal Court Judge James Olds recently granted a motion to dismiss charges against Cesilee Dean, saying he didn't believe the city could prevail on its claim that riding a bike topless constituted disorderly conduct.
But City Attorney Michael May says that decision will be appealed. "The judge essentially ruled [that] anybody could ride naked in Madison and never be charged with disorderly conduct." He believes a person's clothing, or lack thereof, can be a factor in disorderly conduct.
Lana Mades, the assistant city attorney handling these cases, says she's asked the Municipal Court to hold off on pending prosecutions of other ride participants or to rule on other motions for dismissal so the city can appeal these along with Dean's case.
After her citation was dismissed, Dean asked police to investigate her complaint against officer Rene Gonzalez, who cited her, for allegedly refusing her post-arrest request to put on a shirt. She and boyfriend Jason Shaw say a Madison police investigator has indicated that Gonzalez will be "exonerated." Shaw did some checking and found that police "didn't even talk to any of the witnesses."
Lt. Linda Kosovac, the MPD's head of internal affairs, declines comment, saying "any conversation we have with our complainants stays with our complainants" and that "during the course of an investigation, we will not generally comment to the media."
