Officer Tracey R Oesterle
February 1995 - Officer Oesterle reportedly hit his former girlfriend's ex-husband with a golf club. Ex-husband filed a report with the police.
November 1995 - Officer Oesterle's former girlfriend's ex-husband filed a second complaint with the police on February 1995 golf club attack.
December 1995 - Officer Oesterle reportedly handcuffed and beat his ex-girlfriend. A complaint was filed with the police.
February 1996 - Oesterle's ex-wife filed for a protection order against Officer Oesterle
May 1996 - Officer Oesterle went to his ex-girlfriend's home, where he reportedly physically assaulted her. A friend of the Oesterle's ex-girlfriend intervened and Oesterle shot the friend twice. Oesterle was arrested.
May 1996 - Officer Oesterle was charged with assault with intent to murder and possessing a firearm during a felony. Oesterle posted $15,000 bond and was released. Oesterle was suspended from duty with pay.
July 1996 - While out on bond for the May 1996 shooting incident, Officer Oesterle was arrested for violating bond. He reportedly made threatening phone calls to his ex-girlfriend. Oesterle was released on supervision and with a tether.
March 1997 - Facing up to life in prison for the May 1996 shooting, Officer Oesterle was found not guilty at trial. Oesterle's attorney stated that Oesterle stood a good chance of returning to duty at the police department.
OFFICER ARRAIGNED IN SHOOTING ARGENTINE TWP. OFFICER TO BE SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY
Flint Journal, The (MI)
May 20, 1996
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An off-duty Argentine Township police officer charged with shooting his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend Saturday is free on bond while he awaits for his next court appearance.
Tracey R. Oesterle, 32, was arraigned Sunday in the Genesee County Jail by Flint District Judge Kenneth M. Siegel on charges of assault with intent to murder and possessing a firearm during a felony.
Oesterle posted the $15,000 bond and his preliminary examination has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in front of Siegel.
The victim, Robert Sigsby, 29, of Mt. Morris Township, was released Sunday from Hurley Medical Center. He suffered gunshot wounds to his face and back, authorities said.
Witnesses said Oesterle, a Rankin resident, shot Sigsby outside a house on Barrie Avenue near Tuxedo Avenue on Flint's southwest side.
Police said Oesterle came to the house and the woman agreed to step outside and talk to him. Shortly thereafter, she screamed that she was being assaulted.
According to the ex-girlfriend, a Flint woman, Sigsby came out of the house to stop the assault. Oesterle then allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Sigsby twice.
Sigsby reportedly ran from the house to an address on Fenton Road, where police were called.
Flint police sent a hostage negotiator to the Barrie Avenue house and within several minutes, Oesterle was arrested. Kelly said officers also called him to the scene, but Oesterle gave up while he was enroute.
PAST TROUBLE ENTERS COP CASE
EX-GIRLFRIEND, EX-WIFE FILED COMPLAINTS, PROSECUTOR SAYS
Flint Journal, The (MI)
May 22, 1996
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A prosecutor seeking higher bond for an Argentine Township police officer charged with shooting a friend of his ex-girlfriend said the officer allegedly handcuffed the woman and beat her for about an hour in December.
Tracey R. Oesterle, 32, was off duty Saturday when he allegedly shot Robert W. Sigsby, 29, of Mt. Morris in the neck and back with a .40-caliber semiautomatic gun.
Oesterle, free after posting a $15,000 cash bond, is suspended from the police department pending the outcome of the case. He is charged with assault with intent to murder and felony firearm.
Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Stamos, who Tuesday lost his argument for a higher bond in District Court, said Oesterle was targeted in a complaint filed after the December incident.
In the complaint filed in Flint, Oesterle's former girlfriend, Brenda Rich, told police an off-duty Argentine police officer beat her and punched her in the face. The complaint also says the man had visible finger nail and teeth marks and Rich's wrists were swollen and bruised.
Rich did not pursue the complaint.
"It was something bad that happened," she said. "I didn't want to ruin his job."
Oesterle's attorney, Frank Manley of Flint, said Oesterle handcuffed Rich and called Flint police after she beat him in the December incident.
Stamos said Oesterle also had been the target of a personal protection order and other complaints.
Oesterle's ex-wife filed for a personal protection order against him in February.
But Manley said the complaints have not been substantiated and personal protection orders are common.
Manley said he received the police report Tuesday from Saturday's shooting and that there is a strong case for self-defense.
Manley said Oesterle has been suicidal since the shooting. Flint District Judge Kenneth M. Siegel granted a request for a psychological examination to determine his current state of mind.
A preliminary examination is set for August.
"It's very stressful to be on the other side of the law facing these charges," Manley said.
Flint Police Sgt. Scott Eddy, one of the shooting investigators, said he could not comment on the specifics of the case while it is being investigated. But, he said, he has no information to support Manley's self-defense theory.
Oesterle has been a police officer in Argentine Township for about two years. He is paid $320 a week.
Argentine Township Police Chief Hank Kelly said Oesterle has no previous discipline problems.
Before becoming an officer, Oesterle served in the U.S. Marines from 1983-84 and Air Force from 1984-89.
Although Siegel refused the request for a higher bond, he did impose more restrictions on the bond, including prohibiting Oesterle from frequenting any bars and restricting him to live at his parents' home in Rankin.
Oesterle already is barred from having any contact with Sigsby and Rich.
ARGENTINE TWP. OFFICER JAILED FOR ALLEGEDLY VIOLATING BOND
Flint Journal, The (MI)
July 2, 1996
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A township police officer charged with assault with intent to murder is in jail after allegedly violating his bond and harassing his ex-girlfriend.
Tracey R. Oesterle, 32, was arraigned on felonious assault and felony firearms charges Friday before District Court Judge Archie L. Hayman. The charges stem from a May 18 shooting. Oesterle had already been charged with assault with intent to murder and felony firearms violations in connection with the incident.
Bond was set Friday at $150,000 for the recent charges. He is being held at the Genesee County Jail.
Oesterle, a Rankin resident, had been free on a $15,000 bond after pleading not guilty in May to the original charges.
He is accused of shooting Robert W. Sigsby, 29, of Mt. Morris at the home of Oesterle's ex-girlfriend. Sigsby is a friend of Oesterle's ex-girlfriend, Brenda Rich.
Hayman said Rich alleges that Oesterle has harassed her since the shooting by making threatening phone calls, a violation of his earlier bond.
"My concern is he might carry out those threats," Hayman said. "He (poses) a very high risk of danger to the public and the victim."
Oesterle's attorney, Frank Manley of Flint, said his client denies the allegations. Manley said Rich has been harassing Oesterle's family.
"We're investigating Rich and her allegations," Manley said. "I hope for her sake there is truth to it or I will go after her."
Manley said he will request a hearing to lower Oesterle's bond: "It's so high, it makes it prohibitive for him to make (bond)."
Rich said Oesterle came to her house May 18 and pleaded to talk with her. She said she agreed to do so, but the scene turned violent and she screamed for help. Hearing her screams, Sigsby and Rich's 9-year-old daughter came outside to help. Oesterle allegedly pulled a .40-caliber semiautomatic gun and shot Sigsby - who was standing near Rich's daughter - in the neck and back.
Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Stamos had argued in May for a higher bond for Oesterle, citing several complaints filed with Flint police. District Court Judge Kenneth M. Siegel denied the request.
Rich and Sigsby said they feared for their lives after Oesterle was released on bond.
"It's been a nightmare," Sigsby said. "I was always looking over my shoulder."
Rich called Flint police in December saying that Oesterle handcuffed and beat her. According to the complaint, Rich's wrists were swollen and bruised, and Oesterle, who is not specifically named in the complaint, had visible fingernail and teeth marks.
Rich did not pursue the complaint.
Manley has said that Oesterle handcuffed Rich after she beat him.
Rich's ex-husband also filed two complaints with Flint police in February and November 1995. According to the complaints, Oesterle allegedly hit Rich's ex-husband with a golf club in February. The complaints do not name Oesterle but refer to him as an out-county officer.
Manley said there is a strong case for self-defense in the shooting. Police said they have no information to support that theory.
A preliminary examination on the charges is set for August. Oesterle is undergoing a psychological examination. He has been suspended from the township's police department pending the outcome of the case.
NEW FEDERAL LAW MIGHT DISARM POLICE AND DERAIL CAREERS
Flint Journal, The (MI)
January 6, 1997
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Federal and state laws designed to disarm abusers in domestic violence cases also might take guns away from some local police officers, hunters and military personnel.
The federal law, tucked into a spending bill that was effective Sept. 30, prohibits anyone convicted of domestic violence, a misdemeanor, from carrying a gun. It has no exemptions.
Some police and law officials predict the law will be challenged in court, while others are grappling with questions on how to enforce it.
"It's overburdening on persons who depend on weapons for their livelihood," said Fenton Police Chief Gerald Cattaneo, adding that the law does not affect his 15 officers.
But an advocate for domestic violence victims applauded the law, saying that there should be leniency for no one.
"If they don't want to lose their livelihood, they should think about it long before they throw the first punch," said Mary Ann Ketels, director of the YWCA Greater Flint domestic violence/sexual assault services.
A poll of 20 of the 21 police departments within Genesee County, the Genesee County Sheriff's Department and state police Flint post shows that none of the 705 officers in the county will lose his or her gun - or job - under the law.
Genesee County Prosecutor Arthur A. Busch called the federal law "feel-good legislation."
"This is good around election time, but when it comes to the reality of the federal government enforcing laws, they defer to the states," he said.
Under a state law that went into effect in April, anyone who is the subject of a personal protection order cannot carry a gun. Area police officers are sometimes named in such orders when they go through a divorce, police said.
The county gun board reviews all gun-permit candidates to determine whether they are the subject of an active personal protection order, said Robert Yuille, the county's chief assistant prosecutor.
Busch said the laws might be well-intentioned but cannot be enforced.
"The PPO statute has been a nightmare for us," he said. "It has created a lot of confusion, and it gives people a false sense of security. I think that in some cases, it overreaches its intended purpose, and we've seen it abused in our county. There's a lot of room for improvement."
A spokesman for the National Rifle Association said it opposed the legislation because it predicted such problems.
"We predicted this would happen, but it fell on deaf ears," said Chip Walker, an NRA spokesman.
He said legislators felt forced to back the law because it was an election year.
Still, the law as passed is better than what was originally proposed, Walker said. As first written, the federal law would have included any domestic related-violence as defined by any state law, which in some cases includes telephone harassment or trespassing.
As passed, only people convicted of committing violent acts or threatening violent acts come under the law, Walker said.
The NRA supports stronger domestic violence laws to deal with the problem.
"If we want to take domestic violence (incidents) seriously, we should treat them as a felony, not as a misdemeanor," Walker said. "That would be sending a message - that we are serious about the crime - to the offender."
People convicted of felonies already are barred by law from owning or possessing firearms.
The new law unfairly punishes police officers more than other people because losing their weapon probably would mean losing their job, Busch said. He said it would be better to ban officers convicted of domestic assault from carrying a gun only while they are off-duty.
Others said they do not know how to enforce the law.
"I'm really worried about it," said Mt. Morris Chief Frederick Thorsby, who overseas 14 officers. "We need something, a policy, on how to handle it."
Officer Virgil Blanton, president of the Flint Police Officers Association, said officers also are concerned about the law.
"Surely people should be punished for domestic violence, but not to this extent," he said, adding that the association has asked its attorney to investigate.
But other law enforcement officials support the law.
"When you carry a badge, it doesn't give you any excuse to violate the law," said Grand Blanc Township Chief Randy C. Ensley. "When you take the oath of office, ... things go with that."
Most county police chiefs said that even without the federal law, they would not hire anyone with a domestic violence conviction.
"That would send up a red flag," said Grand Blanc Police Chief Mark Heidel.
Some police chiefs pointed to Argentine Township, where Officer Tracey Oesterle is on unpaid leave until his trial on charges of assault with intent to murder.
Oesterle is charged with shooting his ex-girlfriend's male friend in May. While out on bond, he was accused of harassing the ex-girlfriend, including making threatening phone calls. He has since been released on supervision and wears a tether.
"Why put up with the hassle?" said Linden Police Chief Pete VanDriessche. "The bottom line is: Don't hit a woman, ever. There (are) better ways."
Local officials said they try to check officers' backgrounds, but smaller departments like Flushing say that step is unnecessary.
"In a small department like this, if someone filed a PPO or was arrested, I'd know about it in five seconds," Flushing Chief Fay E. Peek III said.
On a statewide level, the state police have ordered an audit of their sworn employees to see how many might fall under the new laws.
"We've gotten a copy of the statute from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and have forwarded that to our attorney general's office," said Capt. Timothy J. Yungfer, state police personnel director.
Under the state's personal protection order law, a police officer has 15 days to appeal such an injunction to a judge and perhaps have it rescinded, Yungfer said.
If a state trooper was prohibited from carrying a gun he would lose his job, Yungfer said.
Flint Police Lt. William Khouri said officers with domestic convictions in that department are being asked to come forward. He said the department will check the backgrounds of all its 312 officers.
So far, Khouri said, none has convictions. He said one had been charged but not yet convicted.
Flint Police Chief Trevor A. Hampton announced last month that officers convicted of domestic violence before Sept. 30 - when the law took effect - would be reassigned internally. Others convicted after the date would be dismissed or asked to resign.
But small departments with only a handful of officers cannot afford to reassign them.
Burton, which has 37 officers, is considering a proposed policy that would suspend an affected officer without pay for a period of time. If the officer could not get the situation set aside or expunged, he or she would be fired, according to the plan.
No one would be hired with an assault conviction, said Burton Chief John Benthall.
Mundy Township Chief David L. Guigear said his department, which has 14 full-time and two part-time officers, is reviewing its domestic violence policy.
None of his officers is affected by the new laws, but an officer who could not carry a gun would have no place in the department, Guigear said.
Because of the federal law's retroactive nature, Richfield Township Chief Boyd Skellenger said an officer in his department would get some time to clear his or her record, but would face dismissal if he or she could not.
The laws do not affect anyone in his department, which has seven full-time and one part-time officer, Skellenger said.
Swartz Creek briefly faced a potential problem when a personal protection order was filed against an officer as part of a divorce proceeding, said Chief Paul Bueche.
By the time that the department researched the case, the order had expired.
For now, area officials said they are waiting to see how the laws shape up.
"Time is going to tell when people are forced into the situation," Heidel said. "The best intended laws ... don't hit the market legislators intend it to."
ARGENTINE OFFICER ACQUITTED IN SHOOTING
CONFLICTING TESTIMONY CITED IN ASSAULT CASE
Flint Journal, The (MI)
March 20, 1997
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
An Argentine Township police officer was acquitted of assault and weapon charges Wednesday in the shooting of another man during an off-duty incident at the home of the officer's ex-girlfriend.
Tracey R. Oesterle, suspended from his job since the shooting last May, wept softly after a jury in Genesee County Circuit Court found him not guilty of assault with intent to murder, felonious assault and felony firearm possession in the May 18 incident.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated about 90 minutes before acquitting the officer of all charges.
"We're pleased, (Oesterle's) family is pleased," said defense attorney Michael P. Manley, who argued that Oesterle shot Robert W. Sigsby in self-defense.
"We believed that this case needed to be tried to preserve the integrity of police administration and the justice system. I'm glad that Mr. Sigsby is OK and that Mr. Oesterle is OK. All sides got a fair trial."
Assistant Genesee County Prosecutor Randall J. Petrides, who argued that Oesterle shot Sigsby in a jealous rage, said the jury had to sort through two very different stories of what happened.
"We gave it our absolute best shot, and we're disappointed that we didn't prevail," Petrides said. "I hope that (Oesterle) learned from this, that (mixing) guns and alcohol and girlfriend problems - you just can't do that."
Manley said he expects that Oesterle will be returned to active duty.
But Argentine Township Police Chief Hank Kelly said the township will evaluate Oesterle's fitness before deciding whether to reinstate him. If nothing else, he said, Oesterle wlll need retraining because he has been off work so long.
"I don't know what his chances are of coming back," Kelly said. "We want to be sure we do things right for everyone involved.
Oesterle, 32, has been suspended with pay since the shooting. He could have faced up to life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.
According to testimony, Oesterle shot Sigsby outside the south Flint home of Brenda Rich, Oesterle's former live-in girlfriend, early on May 18. One bullet passed though Sigsby's face and neck and the other grazed his back and struck an ear.
Sigsby ran several blocks to a doughnut shop on Fenton Road to find help. He did not require surgery and was released from the hospital about 24 hours later.
Jurors heard two radically different versions of what happened.
Rich and Sigsby, who described themselves as friends, testified Oesterle had harassed her with phone calls the day before, then drove past the house several times before stopping sometime after 3 a.m.
Oesterle coaxed her outside, and after a short time, he either forced or dragged her around the side of the house, they said.
Rich said a distraught Oesterle began choking her and asking who was in her home. Sigsby appeared with her young daughter, and Oesterle fired two shots at Sigsby when he walked up and asked what the officer was doing, she said.
After the shooting, Oesterle forced her inside the house and held her down on a bed with the gun to her head, Rich said.
Sigsby said he remained in the house until the young girl went outside looking for her mother. When he saw Oesterle assaulting Rich, he told him to stop, Sigsby said.
The officer suddenly turned, pointed the weapon at his head and fired, Sigsby said. Oesterle fired the second shot as he spun around to flee, Sigsby said.
But Oesterle testified Rich asked him to speak to her in the back yard after he arrived.
He said he and Rich were kissing and hugging when Sigsby showed up at the scene, yelled for him to get away from Rich and approaching him with a knife.
Oesterle said he reacted according to his police training and fired his weapon to stop a deadly threat.
During his closing argument, Manley attacked the credibility of Rich and Sigsby, suggesting they were romantically involved and that Sigsby - not Oesterle - was the jealous boyfriend.
Two pieces of evidence - a 911 tape and a kitchen knife found along the blood trail left by Sigsby - were key to the case, attorneys said.
The knife was found several houses east of Rich's home, several feet off the blood trail. Police said the knife produced no fingerprints, and they could find no evidence that it came from Rich's home.
But Manley argued they could not rule it out as being used by Sigsby.
The jury also heard a lengthy tape recording of the discussions between Oesterle and a 911 dispatcher. Oesterle told the officer that Sigsby had a knife, and he shot the man in self-defense.
The dispatcher kept asking Oesterle to leave the house with his hands up, but the officer asked for more time to talk with "my girlfriend."
"I think the key fact the prosecution couldn't get over was that Tracey Oesterle told the 911 officer that (Sigsby) attacked him with a knife," Manley said after the verdict.
"The next day, they followed the road map, and there was the knife. The chance of that happening was just more than a coincidence."
Petrides argued that Oesterle used the 911 call to lay the groundwork for his self-defense claim and wanted to persuade Rich to accept that story.
Oesterle, who had two or more beers at a series of bars before going to Rich's house, flew into a jealous rage fueled by the alcohol, he said.
"We had two different stories from a bunch of witnesses on both sides," he said after the verdict. "It all comes down to who you believe."
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