TL;DR: Price County sheriff challenger Waldemar Madsen showed up alone to a July 27 candidate forum live-streamed from Harbor View. Chief Deputy Robert Hawn did not attend. Madsen spent nearly two hours answering unscripted questions from residents on Flock cameras, body cameras, drug enforcement, merging city police into the sheriff’s office, and a personal story about his girlfriend’s kidnapping. Hawn’s positions on most of these issues remain unknown.
It was billed as a debate. Only one candidate showed up.
On July 27, Price County sheriff candidate Waldemar Madsen arrived at a candidate forum in Harbor View, live-streamed to the “Voice of Worcester 2.0” Facebook group by Anthony Sleck. Chief Deputy Robert Hawn, who has served as the sheriff’s office’s second-in-command under current Sheriff Brian Schmidt, did not attend.
“We were going to have a debate today,” Madsen told the small group gathered. “But hey, let’s make this a Q&A.”
For the next hour and 41 minutes, Madsen, a military police veteran and former Price County Board supervisor from District 11, took unscripted questions from residents on nearly every major law enforcement issue facing the county. Hawn’s campaign has not publicly stated why he declined to participate. This article is based on a transcription of that live stream. Price County Fun sent a request for comment to Chief Deputy Hawn on July 27. We will update this article if he responds.
Flock Cameras: “They Violate Our Rights”
Price County deployed 10 Flock automated license plate readers at a cost of $14,600 upfront plus $12,000 per year, all with zero public input. The cameras were funded through a debt reallocation agenda item with no mention of Flock, cameras, or surveillance in the title.
Madsen came out strongly against the cameras.
“Those Flock cameras, they violate our rights,” he said. “I should be able to drive wherever I want, and they aren’t tracking my movements, finding out my movements, developing my habits. If you don’t have a warrant to surveil me, you don’t surveil me.”
Madsen drew a distinction between Flock’s fixed surveillance cameras and license plate readers mounted on patrol vehicles, which he said he supports. “Those license plate readers were reading license plates to see if the vehicle was registered, who would belong to. I’m okay with those.” But Flock’s network of fixed cameras that track every vehicle, he argued, goes too far.
He also raised security concerns, noting that ICE has side-door access to Flock data and that officers nationwide have been caught misusing the system. “If law enforcement officers are supposed to be held to a standard and they’re supposed to be just using these things, there’s officers that have been fired because of this,” he said.
Hawn has not made a public statement on Flock cameras. The sheriff’s office under Brian Schmidt deployed the system without a public hearing.
Merging City Police Into the Sheriff’s Office
Madsen’s most detailed policy proposal was a plan to integrate the Phillips and Park Falls municipal police departments into the Price County Sheriff’s Office and redirect their budgets to fire departments and 24-hour patrol coverage.
The Phillips Police Department has a budget of approximately $600,000, Madsen said, and Park Falls has approximately $1.2 million. Under his plan, those officers would become sheriff’s deputies, and a portion of the savings would go to the county’s underfunded volunteer fire departments.
“Our fire department doesn’t have a big budget, and they’d like to do different things,” Madsen said. “Those guys are out in 50-below-zero weather, fighting fires. I’d like them to know that they are respected and loved by their communities.”
The merger would also solve what Madsen identified as a critical gap: the southern part of Price County, including Prentice and Catawba, has no 24-hour law enforcement coverage. He proposed keeping the existing Park Falls office as a satellite station and opening a second satellite station in Prentice.
“In the middle of winter, when there’s a snowstorm, if there’s a domestic violence situation down in that part of the county, it’s going to take a deputy a long time to get from Phillips to that area,” he said. “I don’t want somebody to lose their life because the deputy was too far away.”
Body Cameras: No Excuses
Price County spent $45,000 on body cameras for its deputies, but does not post its body camera policy online as required by Wisconsin Statute § 165.87. A Price County Fun audit of 19 Northwoods departments found an 84% non-compliance rate with the public posting requirement.
Madsen said body cameras should be on any time deputies interact with the public. No exceptions.
“When they’re filling out reports at the department, that’s one thing. But when you’re dealing with the public, you’re dealing with a situation, you better have your body camera on. There is no excuse for not having a body camera on.”
He said cameras protect both officers and residents. “If you’re searching somebody’s house with a warrant, you better have your body camera. Number one, it’s video of anything you find. It’s the proof.”
Open Records: “You’re Going to Get It”
Multiple residents at the forum described being denied open records requests by the sheriff’s office, even for body camera footage of their own arrests. Madsen was direct about how he would handle such requests.
“If it doesn’t pertain to a criminal case, you’re going to get your open records request from me. And even if it does have to do with a case, if it’s not an open investigation at the time, you’re going to get it,” he said. “If it’s supposed to be public knowledge, then it’s public knowledge. Who is the sheriff to decide what we should have and what we shouldn’t?”
Drug Enforcement and a County Drug Court
Madsen described a two-track approach to drug enforcement: aggressive prosecution for dealers and manufacturers, treatment for addicts.
“I want to have more of an in-their-face approach about the drugs, the manufacturing and the distribution,” he said. “You’re coming to my county and you want to ruin our county? I want to meet them at the door.” But for drug addicts, he said, “we need to get people help. I would love to see the people of this town be able to get help for their addiction problems.”
Madsen said he wants to establish a drug court program in Price County, something the county currently lacks, and pledged to work with organizations like His House of Hope, which recently requested $50,000 from the county’s opioid committee.
Domestic Violence: A Personal Story
Madsen spoke about domestic violence with unusual intensity, revealing that his girlfriend had been kidnapped from Price County by a man named Robert Anderson, who he said had a swastika tattoo on his head and had been stalking her.
“He kidnapped her from here. Law enforcement did nothing,” Madsen said. “They gave him a supposed stalking harassment paper. Didn’t even follow it. He called her and he didn’t stop.” Anderson is now in an Iowa jail facing 35 years, Madsen said, and federal kidnapping charges are being explored because the crime crossed state lines.
Madsen said Price County needs a domestic violence shelter. It currently has none. He pledged to pursue grant funding through the county board. “If we do put people into domestic violence shelters, we also need to vet them to make sure they’re not a danger to people inside the shelter,” he added.
The “Good Old Boy Network”
When a resident asked about the “good old boy network” in Price County, Madsen described it as long-time, wealthy families whose opinions carry outsized weight.
“It’s the people that have lived here for many generations, land and money. When they voice their opinion, people listen. When we voice our opinion, the little guy, we don’t have the money, we don’t have the status. Why listen to us?” he said. “I think we need to listen to everybody and not just people that have status.”
“I Will Wake Up at 3 O’Clock in the Morning”
Madsen pledged an open-door policy as sheriff, posting his personal phone number in the live stream and inviting residents to call him directly.
“When you are elected by those people, you’ve got to serve those people 24 hours a day,” he said. “When they call your phone and say, hey, Sheriff Madsen, I need your help, this is what happened to me — I pick up the phone. I will wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning and take your phone call. That is okay.”
He contrasted his approach with what he sees as the status quo. “Our politicians don’t want to listen to their citizens, and that’s obvious. When they raise that hand and take that oath, it’s like, oh, well, I don’t have to sacrifice anything. So I’m just going to sit and go home and let my paycheck happen on payday.”
“We’re Supposed to Serve and Protect”
Madsen said law enforcement should never use intimidation, describing what he called predatory behavior by some officers.
“Law enforcement should not be anything that anybody fears. We’re supposed to serve and protect. That’s what our job is supposed to be,” he said. “Not put fear and not be predatory to put fear and intimidation. I don’t think law enforcement has any place intimidating people, using the badge to intimidate people. You can’t do it. You’re not going to hide behind the badge.”
He also criticized the use of disorderly conduct charges as what he called a weapon. “I don’t believe that we should use disorderly conduct like a weapon everywhere you go,” he said. “People do have free speech. Yelling at somebody is still free speech. If you’re not grabbing somebody, you shouldn’t get a ticket. I don’t believe that the tone of your voice should get you a ticket.”
K9 Procedures and False Arrests
Madsen, who served as a K9 handler in the military, criticized the county’s current K9 procedures. He said deputies need to walk the dog off the scent and bring it back for a second detection to avoid false positives.
“The first detection could be a false detection,” he said. “You walk that dog off the scent, then bring him back into it. If he detects again, that’s a positive detection.” He alleged that the current K9 deputy does not follow this protocol, creating what he called “probably cause” problems.
PTSD and Personal Motivation
Near the end of the forum, Madsen spoke about his military service and his struggles with PTSD. He said he entered a treatment program twice. His mother, who has since passed away, was the reason he sought help and the reason he’s running for sheriff.
“I still want to make my mother proud of me,” he said. “She was proud of my service for this country. I want to strive to be a better man every day for her.”
What We Don’t Know
Chief Deputy Hawn’s absence from the forum means voters have no on-record positions from him on Flock cameras, body camera policy, open records, drug courts, PD mergers, or patrol coverage for the southern county. Hawn was endorsed by Sheriff Brian Schmidt and has served as chief deputy throughout Brian Schmidt’s tenure. His campaign Facebook page has not addressed these issues.
The sheriff’s race will be on the November 2026 ballot. Price County Fun sent a request for comment to Chief Deputy Hawn via email on July 27, 2026. We will update this article if he responds.
See also: our guide to free camping in Wisconsin
See also: what makes Price County communities special
See also: our guide to Price County public records
Sources
Live stream: July 27, 2026 candidate forum, Voice of Worcester 2.0 Facebook group, live-streamed by Anthony Sleck from Harbor View. Duration: 1 hour 41 minutes. Watch the full recording on Facebook. Full video archive (Dropbox backup).
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