Alisa M. Schafer

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

MANITOWOC – Dave Remiker, head of the Metro Drug Unit, said one reason Manitowoc County is seeing a rise in illegal drug activity may be due to the appeal of living in a small community with nicer low-income housing and other programs that are easier to access than in a large city.

Remiker said a trend he has seen is people moving from one city to another and bringing the drug problem with them. He said he saw Chicago’s issues appear in Milwaukee, then Milwaukee’s issues appeared in Sheboygan and now he said many of Sheboygan’s issues are appearing in Manitowoc County.

Remiker and Two Rivers Assistant Police Chief Brian Kohlmeier presented their experiences with illegal drug activity in Manitowoc County during a Community Discussion held Wednesday at the Two Rivers Lester Library.

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“I think that Manitowoc and Two Rivers and the communities that surround Manitowoc and Two Rivers, you still have that hometown, close knit feeling,” Remiker said. “I think this problem hitting Manitowoc County really affects people a little bit harder or a little bit different because we still have this … small town feeling.”

The Metro Drug Unit, a multi-jurisdictional task force that consists of officers from each law enforcement agency in Manitowoc County, has been instrumental in leading the war on drugs in the county. Remiker said he has seen marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine and prescription drugs confiscated from people.

“We do the best with what we can and I can tell you right now that I have some of the most energetic, hardworking guys and gals in the drug task force,” Remiker said.

In one high-profile case, the Metro Drug Unit contributed to the investigation into former Holy Family Memorial physician, Dr. Charles Szyman, for overprescribing pain medication.

Szyman was charged with 19 counts of drug trafficking, to which he plead “not guilty” in June.

During Wednesday’s presentation, Remiker talked about how a “certain physician’s name” would come up in connection to overdoses over and over again, but he struggled with how to investigate a doctor.

“I just got sick of going to overdose death cases and we finally reached out to somebody and gave it a try and we took that person out of practicing,” Remiker said.

He said he saw a huge impact on the community from this doctor’s practices.

“I think that had a huge effect on this community because the quantities of prescription pain medications, opiates, narcotics that were leaving that medical facility and those physicians were astronomical,” Remiker said.

He said he hopes that incident sent a message to other physicians in the area, but he still sees a lot of people and even high school students illegally acquiring prescription medications.

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Remiker urged the people in attendance to call law enforcement if they see anything strange or unusual happening in their communities.

“We’d rather get the call than not,” he said.

He also warned about needles used to deliver substances into a person’s bloodstream. He said the area has a high rate of Hepatitis C and HIV cases due to people sharing needles when using drugs. Now, people are finding used needles in streets, parks, on beaches and even in snow piles. He said if people are unable to safely dispose of those needles, they should call law enforcement so they can take care of the needle.

The discussion was a second in a series of Community Discussion where law enforcement officers are invited to speak to the community about various topics, including current events.

Kohlmeier, as assistance police chief in Two Rivers, said he felt smaller communities like Two Rivers and Manitowoc are able to learn from the issues taking place in larger cities so they can take proactive steps to head off the same issues in Manitowoc County.

“I think we try to take some real proactive steps to head things off, to try and combat what is going on,” he said. “Something that is different between us and some larger communities is that sometimes we have the ability to try and get out ahead of things a little bit more. I think we really try to target things and try to be a bit more proactive about stuff.”

Kohlmeier said the Two Rivers Police Department has great working relationships with the other area law enforcement agencies, which he said they are constantly utilizing to solve cases that cross jurisdictional boundaries.

He said the departments commonly communicate and share pictures about cases or tips on illegal activity that help the rest of departments connect and solve cases they might not otherwise have been able to.

People who witness a crime or have information on a crime can call the Two Rivers Police Department at 920-793-1191, the Manitowoc Police Department at 920-686-6500 or Manitowoc Crime Stoppers at 920-683-4466.

Alisa M. Schafer: 920-686-2105 or aschafer@gannett.com