State Rep. Steve Wieckert says he will push to rewrite state laws to enable visiting National Football League teams to continue their pre-game stays in Appleton.
First, however, Wieckert, R-Appleton, said he will request a state attorney general’s opinion on whether existing statutes allow police to restrict traffic while ushering visiting-team caravans from Appleton to Lambeau Field.
A legal opinion offered by Nancy Peterson-Bekx, a former prosecutor and current criminal justice instructor at Fox Valley Technical College, has thrown into question police escort practices in place since NFL teams began staying in downtown Appleton in the early 1980s.
Peterson-Bekx said state police agencies cannot disregard traffic laws except when responding to emergencies, or during specifically exempted duties.