Investigation suspended in assault on Kedzie's son
WHITEWATER — Police have suspended an investigation into the assault of the son of a state senator that the victim indicated was politically motivated.
Sean Kedzie, 22, asked Whitewater police to suspend the investigation Dec. 4, according to a police department report.
The Gazette received a series of reports of the investigation through an open-records request.
Police offered to refer the case to the county district attorney, but Kedzie responded, "just let it be done," according to the report.
The reports chronicle much of the investigation. Minor portions are blacked out. Reports indicate three of Kedzie's neighbors witnessed two men striking Kedzie with their fists early on the morning of Oct. 19.
One witness called 911, but the assailants had left the area before police arrived.
Kedzie told police one of the men had taken his Romney yard sign, and Kedzie said "put the sign down, a———."
Kedzie is the son of Sen. Neal Kedzie, a Republican who issued a news release about the assault on Oct. 22.
The witnesses apparently did not see or hear anything involving the sign, but they said they saw two young men pummeling Kedzie.
Kedzie said the assailants made disparaging remarks about Romney and said, "go Obama!" during the assault, but the witnesses did not hear that.
One witness said he would have heard if any other words were exchanged.
Kedzie said he heard one of the assailants call the other one by name, and he tracked that name to a UW-Whitewater student through Facebook, and then went to the students' place of work and saw him there but did not speak to him.
Kedzie later recognized the same student in a photo lineup.
Police interviewed the student several times and did a voice analysis that is supposed to indicate truthfulness. The result was "inconclusive," although the student did show stress when asked whether he was involved in the incident, according to reports.
The student allowed police to see his cell phone, which showed text messages consistent with the student's claim that he went to bed before the assault occurred.
One witness reported hearing an assailant say something like, "Hey, man," to the other, and police suggested that might have been what Kedzie thought he heard as a name.
Police report Kedzie had a swollen and bruised face and cuts on his face and hands. Kedzie told police the next day that he had headaches and a loss of focus that he attributed to a concussion, although he had not been tested for concussion.
Police examined the student's hands and found no indication that he had used his fists in an assault.
Investigators went over the case with Kedzie on Nov. 29, and Kedzie told them he wanted to think about whether he wanted the case to continue. Kedzie called on Dec. 5 and said, "I'm done with it," and "I think the odds are against me."
Police suspended the case pending new evidence or Kedzie asking for it to be reopened.
