John Ferak

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Days after "Making a Murderer" became a hit on Netflix in December, Manitowoc County Sheriff Rob Hermann realized he was on the verge of an international public relations disaster.

The department was flooded with angry phone calls, hundreds of emails and a barrage of social media posts suggesting that Hermann ran a corrupt agency that continued to employ a dirty cop - Lt. Andrew Colborn - as head of the detective bureau.

To some police officers, the Netflix docu-series about Steven Avery was a stain on all law enforcement. As a result, some fellow sheriffs put Hermann in touch with the National Sheriff's Association. They wanted to help the Manitowoc County sheriff overcome his brewing public relations crisis.

Jonathan F. Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriff's Association, immediately put Hermann in touch with a handful of his best "PR trouble shooters." Thompson advised Hermann that the experts were well-versed in "these types of situations." The nonprofit organization represents about 3,000 elected sheriffs across the country.

Thompson's page-long email was recently turned over to the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin as part of a public records request seeking access to written and email correspondence involving various Manitowoc County Sheriff's officials after "Making a Murderer" aired.

In Thompson's email to Hermann, he predicted that many media outlets would focus on the following three themes in their renewed push for coverage of the 2005 Teresa Halbach murder case:

Avery was convicted originally because he was not the right type of guy - the wrong person from the wrong place

If Avery is a murderer, then he was almost certainly made one by the 18 years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit.

If police wanted to frame someone for a crime, it probably could have without having to break too much of a sweat. It wouldn't even have to be a department-wide thing. A couple of determined, high-ranking officers could easily do it without too much trouble - wrong person, bad system and corrupt police, a recipe for inequality.

"Frankly, these are the core messages being played out today in Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore and they started in Ferguson," Thompson advised Hermann. "This is not how (law enforcement) operates, we need to show why and what is done to prevent it."

In wake of the Making A Murderer backlash, Hermann also notified Thompson that the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office planned to convene a meeting of the three main law enforcement agencies involved in the Halbach murder case. The other two were Calumet County and the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation.

"We would be honored to support teams in any way possible," Thompson offered in his email.

The National Sheriff's Association, which is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, put Hermann in touch with two men with expertise in law enforcement media crisis management. One was Pat Royal, public information officer with the National Sheriff's Association. The other was Mark Pfeifle, president of Off The Record strategies in Washington. D.C.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Pfeifle briefly worked as a communication adviser for President George W. Bush and then worked in communications for The National Security Council, where Pfeifle "led a successful communication effort to promote President's 'surge' of U.S. forces into Iraq."

"If we can prevent the volume of this incident from overpowering (law enforcement) these are the folks that can do it," Thompson said.

"No doubt sheriffs across the country will be asked 'can you assure us this cannot happen here' and from there a host of unanswerable questions putting you and your colleagues into a no win 60 Minutes type of situation," Thompson wrote to Hermann.

This week, Manitowoc County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer said he was unaware that Hermann sought public relations guidance from the National Sheriff's Association.

Ziegelbauer told the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that Manitowoc County hasn't spent any funds for outside media consultants or to hire public relations firms in wake of "Making a Murderer." But the county is a dues-paying member of the sheriff's organization, which also provides training and outreach to members.

In retrospect, the public relations help seems to have made a difference in terms of minimizing the backlash, Ziegelbauer said. He said the sheriff stumbled during the initial firestorm of intense criticism that began around the Christmas holidays. Initially, Hermann offered harsh criticism of the Netflix series, only to admit later that he had not even watched Making a Murderer. He has since watched it.

"I would say he has gotten better," Ziegelbauer said. "It has died down quite a bit outside the area and nationally. Closer to home, it has pretty much died down a couple of months ago."

After receiving public relations coaching from the National Sheriff's Association, Hermann also started writing back to some of the critics. Initially, Hermann only wrote back to people who objected to the Netflix series, thanking them for their support.

"I have recently watch (sic) the Netflix movie," Rob Hermann answered one of his critics. "This film left out very important details and in several areas has editing that twists the real facts ... It is definitely taken from the defense point of view ... While you may not believe it, I believe that the facts are deliberately being twisted by the defense and justice was served in the Hallbach (sic) murder."

Since January, Hermann has exchanged numerous emails with HLN's Christo Taoushiani, associate producer of Nancy Grace, to help the sheriff's department regain credibility on a national stage.

It worked to Hermann's advantage that some of the national television shows including Nancy Grace intended to produce shows that reiterated the pretrial narrative of special prosecutor Ken Kratz - that Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were bloodthirsty, deviant, sex-crazed killers.

The Nancy Grace show also reached out to Hermann seeking his help in airing a show that portrayed Manitowoc County as a victim. The associate producer leaned on Hermann to handpick some of the more mean-spirited emails that he had received. He was more than gracious in helping Nancy Grace advance that narrative.

"There are more, but I did not want to fill up your email," Hermann wrote Grace's associate producer.

"We will have a lot of this included in tonight's show," Taoushiani responded. "I apologize that your department is having to go through this."

LETTER: Lt. Andrew Colborn fires back at "Making a Murderer" critic

LETTER: Sheriff Rob Hermann urges letter writer to do more research

LETTER: Manitowoc politician calls emails "borderline threatening."

Later that afternoon, Hermann forwarded two old mugshots of Avery's brothers, Earl and Charles, for use in an upcoming Nancy Grace show.

"You have been really helpful," Taoushiani informed the sheriff. "I hope that you have been happy with our coverage."

Following the media crisis coaching, Hermann also developed an email rapport with Wisconsin journalist Jessica McBride. She produced a story for a Milwaukee publication that was headlined. "How the Avery conspiracy theory completely falls apart."

"Very nice article," Hermann emailed McBride. "You certainly are busy doing your homework!"

Hermann and McBride exchanged multiple emails. She informed the sheriff that the Avery case court file was fascinating and very complex.

"Complex, just like the crime scene," Hermann wrote her back. "Hard to believe this happened here in tranquil Manitowoc County."

"It would take a month to properly review the whole file!" she wrote Hermann back.

"It sure has its share of twists and now that you are hooked on it, you will have plenty of information to keep you busy," Hermann wrote her.

Besides Nancy Grace and the Milwaukee publication, Hermann greatly benefited from favorable airtime on the Fox News Channel's show "Justice with Jeanine." Jeanine Pirro, a former district attorney and judge, hosted a one-hour show to discuss "Making A Murderer." Pirro opined that there is strong evidence of Avery's guilt.

Looking back, Hermann has gotten much better at handling media interviews in wake of the Making a Murderer series, Ziegelbauer said this week.

"I would give him good grades on all the questions and answers," he said.

However, the sheriff has restricted others at his department from doing media interviews about the Avery case including several employees who received special internal recognition letters for their personnel files praising them for their work at the Avery Salvage Yard leading to Avery's November 2005 arrest, the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin determined.

The honorees included Lt. Detective James Lenk, Sgt. Andrew Colborn, detective Dave Remiker and the sheriff's younger brother, Lt. Todd Hermann. The three detectives were instrumental in helping sift for evidence to tie Avery to the homicide while the sheriff's younger brother helped operate the command center post at the Avery Salvage Yard.

A number of national shows including CNN and the Fox News Channel reached out to Colborn directly for an interview.

"Thank you very much for the opportunity," Colborn wrote back to Michaela Berk of the Fox News Channel "However, at this time all media requests for information and.or interviews should be directed to Manitowoc County Sheriff Robert Hermann."

Berk emailed Colborn back indicating that she spoke with Hermann. "Hang in there," she urged him.

In the meantime, Colborn and the sheriff's office remain under a cloud of suspicion regarding numerous evidence planting allegations that were first raised during Avery's 2007 trial by his lawyers Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, and were a key theme in the Netflix documentary.

Timeline: History of the Steven Avery case

Lenk and Colborn are suspected of planting evidence to frame Avery and ignoring conflicts of interest.

During the week of Oct. 11, 2005, Avery sat in a Manitowoc law office conference room and watched Lenk and Colborn get questioned as Avery's legal team had the upper hand. Lenk and Colborn were forced to explain their conduct surrounding Avery's wrongful conviction case. Avery's lawsuit sought $36 million from Manitowoc County and retired Sheriff Tom Kocourek the same man who hired both Lenk and Colborn.

On Nov. 3, Teresa Halbach was reported missing to Calumet County authorities. From that night on, Lenk and Colborn were brought into the case by Calumet County investigator Mark Wiegert and they made Avery their only target of suspicion even though they didn't have a motive to link him to Halbach's disappearance. Avery has always insisted that he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

That same date, Nov. 3, Colborn recited the license plates for Halbach's RAV4 while on the road. When his dispatcher confirmed the plates belonged to Halbach, a missing person, Colborn quickly followed up and wanted confirmation that Halbach's vehicle was 1999 Toyota. At Avery's trial, Colborn was unable to give his precise whereabouts when he placed the call.

He testified under oath that he was not standing at the vehicle when he called into dispatch.

Two days later, a Toyota RAV4 was found with its doors all locked - under a pile of branches without its front and back license plates - at the Avery Salvage Yard. Colborn testified he was a past salvage yard customer, giving him familiarity with the property.

On Nov. 6, volunteer firefighters - not professionally trained crime lab technicians - conducted an unsuccessful evidence search of the roughly 4,000 junked vehicles scattered across the Avery property. The very next morning, Lenk and Colborn went back into the Avery Salvage Yard to check a number of junked vehicles that were apparently missed. Then the following day, Nov. 8, William Brandes Jr., a Brillion volunteer firefighter, recovered both of Halbach's license plates from inside the backseat of a junked station wagon.

Besides the fortuitous find of Halbach's license plates on Nov. 8, Lenk and Colborn found a spare ignition for Halbach's Toyota RAV4 on the floor of Avery's bedroom in plain view. Colborn, Lenk and other Calumet County Sheriff's deputies had already searched Avery's tiny bedroom multiple times in the days prior and the key was not there.

On Nov. 9. Avery was arrested. In 2007 Avery and his teenage nephew, Brendan Dassey, were both convicted of Halbach's murder.

RELATED:Were license plates planted in Avery yard?

This week, Ziegelbauer said it's his understanding that Colborn and Sheriff Hermann have had a disagreement over the issue of doing media interviews and "the sheriff won."

"I don't have power over him and his department," Ziegelbauer said of Hermann. "He answers to the press and the people."

Even though Colborn has been restricted from granting any media interviews during the past five months, the veteran Manitowoc County Sheriff's official has tried to reassure friends and others, one at a time, that he is not a crooked cop. Now a lieutenant, Colborn has overseen his agency's detective bureau during the past five years.

“No evidence was planted at any time by any law enforcement officer during the course of this investigation,” Colborn wrote in a lengthy January email to Jacalyn LaBre, Manitowoc County District Attorney, since November 2013.

RELATED STORY: No Steven Avery evidence planted: detective

In January, Colborn received an email from a long-time friend in North Dakota who congratulated him for becoming "famous" thanks to the true-crime murder series on Netflix.

"Infamous as opposed to famous might be a more description of me right now," Colborn replied. "I would love to give you my side of the story, we may have to call each other or visit someday in order to facilitate that ... it was a horrible time for the Halbach family, who continues to be victimized by all this."

As for the other suspected evidence planter, Lenk has avoided the media ever since the Avery 2007 trial.

Avery's lawyers contend that Lenk had a role in planting Avery's blood into the RAV4 that was recovered at the salvage yard. The defense lawyers argued that Lenk already knew about a vial of Avery's blood that had been kept for years inside the courthouse next to the sheriff's office.

Lenk retired from the sheriff's office in December 2011 and now resides in Green Valley, Arizona.

As for Thompson, the National Sheriff's Association director has made it clear to Hermann that his team of well-trained public relations experts are always available upon request.

"Key to any response needs to be a dedicated group of folks that can and will talk about the cases and the remedies," Thompson reminded Hermann. "We want to offer our support if you need it."

John Ferak: 920-993-7115 or jferak@gannett.com; on Twitter @johnferak