Gregory reviewed all of the village of DeForest’s reports and the results of the investigation by Mark Beckner, a consultant from Firestone, Colorado, before he gave his approval to hire Furseth. He said what stood out for him was Beckner’s assessment that he could find nothing, other than the video, to suggest that Furseth held racist views. Beckner also wrote in his report that he could not find evidence of overt or explicit racial bias within the DeForest Police Department.

Beckner added that some potential red flags exist that could indicate some implicit racial bias in how the department operates. “(But) these red flags are not proof of racial bias,” he said.

Has to prove himself

Furseth was in training Thursday and could not be reached for comment. But Gregory said Furseth has continued to apologize and remains remorseful over the video, which he understands has had a negative impact on the village of DeForest and the area.

“As we looked at the investigation and looked at Dan’s experience and what he could bring to the town of Madison as a patrol officer ... we decided we’ll give him another chance,” Gregory said. “We’ll forgive what he did 11 years ago.”