Milwaukee Police Answered the Cell-Site Simulator Request

This is a records notice, not an analysis. It states what was asked, what was given and when, and where the files are. Analysis is a separate post.

In What Wisconsin Regulates I wrote that the Milwaukee Police Department’s cell-site simulator, as far as the public record showed, had no published departmental policy. On July 25, 2026 I filed an open records request with the department under Wisconsin’s Public Records Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31–19.39, asking for the record.

The timeline

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• July 25, 2026. I sent the open records request to the department’s Open Records Section. No acknowledgment came.
• August 23. I sent a follow-up citing the statute’s “as soon as practicable and without delay” standard.
• August 24. The Open Records Section acknowledged the request and assigned it reference number 2617543, with a notice that a backlog “can significantly delay our response.”
• October 19. The section produced eight files and wrote that “with the transmission of these records to you, the records custodian will consider your request closed.”

Twelve weeks passed from request to production. The department charged no fee.

What was asked

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The request had five items. In short:

1. Any written policy governing the acquisition, deployment, use, data retention, or disclosure of cell-site simulators.
2. Any non-disclosure agreement or similar agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Harris Corporation, or anyone else concerning them.
3. The current contract with Tactical Support Equipment, Inc., or any other simulator vendor, with amendments and extensions.
4. Any form or template used to obtain judicial authorization before a deployment, and any record of the level of authorization the department requires.
5. Any log or summary showing the number of deployments since January 1, 2020, the categories of data collected, and how long it is kept.

It also asked for written confirmation, item by item, where no record exists. The full text is in the correspondence file below.

What was given on October 19

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Seven of the eight files follow, as produced. The department redacted nothing visible in them and stated no withholding authority. In order of the documents’ own dates:

1. Memorandum, “Cell Site Simulator,” March 27, 2018 (produced as Cell Site info.pdf, 4 pages). Police Officer (P.O.) Chris Heidemann to Captain Johnny Sgrignuoli: a description of the device and how it is used, followed by two pages titled “High Profile Arrests Using a Cell Site Simulator.”
2. Sole-source letter, June 19, 2018 (2018 SOLE SOURCE LETTER FROM TSE.pdf, 2 pages). Tactical Support Equipment, Inc. certifies itself the sole United States source for the Octasic CBRSYS6008 eight-channel system.
3. Contract E0000019058, August 25, 2022 (E19058 - TACTICAL SUPPORT EQUIPMENT.pdf, 23 pages). City of Milwaukee and Tactical Support Equipment, Inc. Term October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025, not to exceed $1,280,450. Two vendor quotes are attached as exhibits.
4. Amendment 1 to Contract E0000019058, August 2025 (E19058 - TACTICAL SUPPORT EQUIPMENT Amendment 1.pdf, 3 pages). Adds $165,000 for a total of $1,445,450 and extends the term through September 30, 2028, with an option to extend annually after that. The two quotes attached list the equipment by model and serial number.
5. Standing affidavit of P.O. Christopher Randazzo, May 31, 2024 (2024 Standing Affidavit - Randazzo-Final.pdf, 6 pages). Special Investigations Division. The affidavit used in applications for tracking orders. It describes what a cell-site simulator does and does not collect.
6. Tracking-warrant template, “All Carriers,” updated May 31, 2024 (Final MMN 2024 MPD Tracking Warrant - All Carriers - updated 05-31-24.pdf, 19 pages). A combined application and order under Wis. Stat. §§ 968.36, 968.375(3), and 968.373. The order includes a section authorizing the use of a cell site simulator.
7. Voucher GR-578839 and invoice 23-073C, June 2025 (GR-578839 V-02235491.pdf, 2 pages). $46,000 for “Nyxcell V800 Annual Warranty/Support Renewal Year 7,” billed against customer purchase order E0000018879.

The eighth file is a spreadsheet log of phone-tracking operations. It contains the names, dates of birth, and addresses of the people tracked, including minors, victims, and witnesses. I am not publishing it.

The production included no standard operating procedure and no non-disclosure agreement, and it did not say whether any exist.

The correspondence

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The request, the follow-up, the acknowledgment, and the production message are in one file, with mail transport headers removed: correspondence.txt.

Corrections are welcome at contact@peopleoverprivilege.com.