Investigation of Superior Police Officer Leads to Dismissal of 40 Criminal Cases

SUPERIOR, Wis. — A Superior police officer is no longer on the force after Douglas County District Attorney Mark Fruehauf discovered the officer may have intentionally lied on a police report to raise a suspect’s charges to a felony. As FOX 21’s Dan Hanger reports, Fruehauf has been forced to dismiss 40 criminal cases because of credibility concerns involving the officer in question.

The officer is 25-year-old Jarid Rankila — a three-year veteran of the Superior Police Department.

According to Fruehauf, Rankila’s written police reports about an April 13 disorderly conduct call stated he got his hand “slammed” in his squad car’s door after the female suspect kicked the door shut during an arrest at the Superior Fairgrounds.

Rankila reported feeling a “rush of pain in my right hand,” according to his report.

In body camera video obtained by FOX 21, Rankila is heard saying, “Hey, knock it off! You almost smashed my hand in the f****** door!” The female suspect replied that she didn’t. Rankila replied, “Yes you did!”

Rankila transported the suspect to jail on preliminary charges of disorderly conduct, resisting or obstructing an officer and battery to law enforcement.

In a written report two days later on April 16, Rankila said his pain level at the time of the incident was 8 out of 10, and that he went to Essentia Health ER to be quote “briefly assessed.”

Then two days later on April 18, Rankila completed an employee injury report, according to Freuhauf.  In it, Rankila described his injuries as “severe pain in my right hand” and “swelling and light bruising.”

But upon review of officer Rankila’s body camera footage, Fruehauf sent a six-page report to Superior Police Chief Paul Winterscheidt that detailed multiple inconsistencies with officer Rankila’s police reports.

The inconsistences by Fruehauf include Rankila being heard on video saying he “almost” got this hand stuck in the door, Rankila seen using his right hand during the on-scene investigation, and video showing no “visible injury, such as bleeding, broken skin or discoloration.”

“I mean she smashed my hand in the door. I feel like I should go Battery to a Law Enforcement Officer,” Rankila is heard on body camera video. “I was holding the door open and she kicked it shut so hard that my hand went ‘boom!’” Rankila described while using his right hand to re-enact how he said the door swung shut on his hand (without closing the door on it).

As for the visit to the hospital, GPS data of Rankila’s squad car shows he was at Essential Hospital for 2 minutes, 21 seconds — from the time of arriving in the parking lot, to exiting and returning to the squad car to leave, according to Fruehauf.

Fruehauf documented to the Chief Winterscheidt that he was “bothered by the lack of any photograph of the supposed injury.”

Douglas County Dist. Atty. Mark Fruehauf

Fruehauf went on to say, “to make an arrest for a felony battery to law enforcement … and not take any photo of the injury, is inexplicable to me.”

The female suspect in this case pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The other charge of resisting or obstructing an officer was dropped.

Meanwhile, it is a felony for a law enforcement officer to intentionally falsify police reports. However, after an outside investigation by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office and after Fruehauf’s own review of the evidence, he said he is not able to file charges against Rankila at this time.

As for why not?  Fruehauf released the following statement to FOX 21:

“A person is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  Based upon my discussion of the case with Ashland County and my review of the evidence, at this time I do not believe I could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed by Mr. Rankila.  Were charges to proceed against Mr. Rankila, I would be required to prove “intentional falsification” beyond a reasonable doubt at his trial, and I believe a reasonable jury, which would be instructed that it must give Mr. Rankila the benefit of every reasonable doubt, could conclude that this was not a case of intentional falsification, but rather unintentionally very poorly worded reports.

Superior Police Chief Paul Winterscheidt

At the same time, whether poorly written or something worse, this incident caused me serious concerns about my office’s ability to rely on Mr. Rankila’s credibility in future cases where he would be needed as a witness.  As a result, we have made the decision to dismiss pending cases where he would be a necessary witness in the future, which has resulted in dismissal of 40 such cases, primarily involving drug and traffic related offenses.  This was a difficult decision that results in several charged defendants who will not have their day in court.  But the job of the prosecutor is to do justice, and given the credibility concerns I have, I believe dismissal of those cases is necessary and in the interests of justice.”

Chief Paul Winterscheidt said he could not comment on specifics of Rankila’s investigation, but he did release the following statement to FOX 21 about what he expects out of his officers.

“I want to take a moment to address an important matter that has come to our attention. Maintaining your trust is our highest priority, and I understand that recent events may have raised concerns. We are committed to transparency, accountability, and upholding the highest standards of integrity within our police department.

As your Chief of Police, I want to assure you that we take our responsibilities to this community seriously. Our officers are expected to conduct themselves with honesty, professionalism, and respect in all their interactions. While there may be challenges along the way, please know that we will always strive to correct any issues and ensure that we hold ourselves accountable.

Your trust is essential, and we are committed to working every day to earn and sustain it. We will continue to serve you with dedication, and I encourage open dialogue between our department and the community. Together, we can continue to build a safer and stronger environment for everyone.”

Rankila’s attorney, Jake Gondik, had no comment for this story.