Did The Mac PD Knowingly Leave A Potential Witness To The Wolf Dog Impoundment Out Of A Police Report?

It all started a few weeks ago when I received a report from the Wolf Dog owner, Sandra Atwood, that there was a civilian present with the police during the impoundment of her dogs. At the time, she also stated that she believed that the person present could have been the city attorney, David Ligtenberg. Which, would have been weird.

I don’t know about you, but I generally care a lot less about things when the minutiae seems straightforward. But the McMinnville city attorney showing up to the impoundment of potentially dangerous animals seems a bit kooky to me. So, I started to not mind my own business and began to ask some questions.

First, to the City Attorney. Because, like, what an accusation, right? Then, to the City Manager. (Who never got back to me.) To see if it could be a city employee hanging out with the po-po. And finally, the Mac PD. All three basically stonewalled me because they were unavailable or just didn’t want to call or email me back. But that’s when things got more convoluted.

I knew that Sandra may have had some footage from that day. I also knew that the Mac PD carry body cameras. So, I thought, why not check the body cam footage to 1. To verify there was a civilian (or someone not in police uniform) present with the police during the impoundment, and 2. To see who this person is.

And, gee golly mister, was there a find. Because of a public records request, I was able to get a copy of the footage. And, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, there does seem to be a civilian present with police during the dog impoundment on March 12th, 2025.

FastForward –>–> to today 6/2/25: I decide it’s time to check on this again. So, I try and reach out to the city attorney and the Mac PD to follow up and ask the question, “Was there a civilian present at the impoundment of the wolf dogs at the Atwood home?”

The answer from the city attorney, David Litgenberg, was pretty straightforward. To start, no, he did not receive my voicemails (or emails) from when I reached out earlier this month asking these same questions. And, no, he “was not” the civilian present with the police on the day of the impoundment. Via my research and the provided pictures below, he was not the person in the body cam footage.

Next, I called the Mac Police Department and asked to speak with the Public Information Officer in regards to the wolf dog impoundment, and I received a call back from Capt Fessler.

The phone call was a bit odd. The officer didn’t identify themselves for several minutes but suggested that I submit a public records request in regards to any questions I have about the day of the impoundment. As the Public Information Officer, the Captain stated that he did not need to answer any questions.

He repeated this a few times, in a few different ways, and went on to say that he made this call to me to get it off the log so other officers didn’t have to respond to my request. Which, I get it, the police got better stuff to do besides answer annoying questions from annoying people like me. But the Mac PD wasn’t directly answering questions; they were punting.

At this point, I still don’t know with whom I am speaking. So, I worked up the nerve to ask the officer his name. And once Captain Fessler identified himself, I was a little less on edge about the experience. I asked him if there was a civil present during the wolf dog impoundment on March 12/13th at the Atwood home. He replied by saying all that information would be included in the police report or body cam footage and that I could request that information via a public records request. Which is a reasonable response that I appreciated.

However, the Captain did not know I already had this info. So, I informed him that I was in possession of the police report and the body cam footage. He then says, and I’m paraphrasing, that he doesn’t have to answer any questions; if there were a civilian present, all answers are in the report.

I figure I’m not going to get another opportunity to ask the department questions about this. So, I tell Capt Fessler the evidence I seemingly have: there doesn’t seem to be any mention of a civilian present in the police report. However, there is body cam footage of this someone, seemingly a civilian as they are not in uniform, with officers on camera during the impoundment of the wolf dogs.

It’s hard to get a read for people over the phone, but Capt Fessles’s tone changed a bit. He said, and I quote, “I have no obligation to say who it is to you, Andrew Brunello”. I asked him if he could acknowledge that there was a civilian present during the impoundment, considering they’re on tape and identified as being with the Mac PD that day. He would only say that if there was a civilian their that day, it’d be included on the report.

But, there doesn’t seem to be a civilian noted in the report. And I do see a civilian in plain clothes with the police in body cam footage, and other footage, obtained from that day.

As I reported on May 9th, a civilian being present with the police isn’t an issue. In fact, a person being there may have been what’s commonly referred to as a “ride-along”. It could be an observer, a job applicant, a city official, a fed, or someone else completely. But that person not being noted in any report about the day could complicate issues and could potentially be problematic. First off, why bring a civilian to the house of potentially dangerous animals? Second, why was the individual dressed up in business casual attire for a police response? Lastly, why not just admit that someone was there that day?

Are the McMinnville Police hiding a potential witness by not mentioning in the police report all individuals present during the impoundment of the wolf dogs? No, probably not. But in my opinion, Capt Fessler was being evasive about whether or not there was a civilian present with the police during the impoundment. As the highest-ranking officer attached to the case (besides Chief Wood) and the Public Information Officer (PIO) that called me to answer questions about the impoundment of the wolf dogs on behalf of the McMinnville Police Department, he should know. But he’s not telling me.

However, the body cam footage snitched. So, who is this person on the body cam footage? And, more importantly, does it matter? (I don’t think so, Tim.)

-Andrew Brunello