Yesterday, MPD officers assisted the FBI and other local law enforcement agencies in a search for Paris Poe, a wanted person from Illinois. Poe was a federal fugitive,and was considered armed and extremely dangerous. A number of locations were checked for Poe, and he was subsequently spotted leaving a hotel on Nesbitt Road (in Fitchburg) on foot. This led to a significant allocation of law enforcement resources to the Southwest Madison area in an attempt to locate and apprehend Poe. This effort attracted a great deal of media attention, resulted in a number of public schools being temporarily locked down, and undoubtedly created unease for residents of the area.
Fortunately, Poe was taken into custody without incident at about 7pm on Madison's east side. The incident demonstrated great cooperation and coordination between a number of agencies. The Madison Police Department, the Fitchburg Police Department, the Dane County Sheriff's Office, and the State Division of Criminal Investigation all committed resources to assist the FBI in this effort. MPD personnel maintain great working relationships with these agencies, which pays big dividends during large-scale incidents like yesterday's. The effort paid off, as a dangerous suspect was removed from the community.