We cheered when we heard the news this morning about the Police & Fire Commission (PFC) not taking disciplinary action against Chief Koval. They are spot on in their decision! These charges should have never been filed in the first place. Steve and I were at the council meeting on that fateful evening in question. What we witnessed (and testified to, under oath, at the PFC hearing) was Chief Koval acting as a skilled professional, in control of the situation the entire time. Despite being harassed, yelled at, and followed. Let me make this clear in no uncertain terms. This is straight from the source: Chief Koval got out of his seat that evening to protect Steve and me from hostile situations in the council chamber, and subsequently in the hallway and then down the stairwell. And for that, we are grateful. How many people - police officer or not - stick their necks out like that these days? So although the PFC's decision is welcome news, we're well aware that war has been waged on Chief Koval & Madison PD. Ever hear the expression "It's a marathon, not a sprint?" This is a marathon. Our friend and staunch MPD supporter, David Blaska writes about this in his recent column: https://davidblaska.com/2017/03/14/chief-mike-koval-was-just-fined-13000/comment-page-1/#comment-478 (Please note: We are a non-partisan group). But we're not going anywhere. We will continue to support Chief Koval & MPD for as long as they need us. In addition, Chief Koval is still out thousands of dollars in legal fees. The figure publicly quoted was $13,000, but we believe it's higher than that. It's up to the discretion of the city to vote to reimburse these fees. Being an election cycle, the council may do the right thing - if it goes up for a vote before April - but we shall see. **We'd love nothing more than to start a GoFundMe page to raise money for Chief Koval's fees, but this is strictly prohibited by the city. The last thing we want to do is get the chief into more trouble. Share your thoughts & please keep in touch. All the best. : ) --Paula Fitzsimmons