Who Punched Darling Recall Petitioner? Cops Still Have No Suspects

The Germantown Police Department on Wednesday said officers are still searching for the man who punched a recall petitioner in the stomach earlier this month.

David Kopplin, of Beloit, had been holding signs and collecting signatures to recall Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) March 19 on the sidewalk in front of Riversbend Golf Course, N96W18034 County Line Rd., just outside Menomonee Falls.

Kopplin had been out since 11 a.m. collecting signatures, and at 1:43 p.m. a man approached Kopplin and was upset with what Kopplin was doing. The man started yelling at Kopplin, and at that point Kopplin started to walk away, according to the report.

The man continued to follow Kopplin, and when Kopplin turned around, the man punched Kopplin in the stomach. The man then walked away and entered a silver pickup truck, which was parked at Speedway, W178N9653 Riversbend La., and drove away.

Germantown police officers obtained surveillance video from Speedway staff, and were able to identify the vehicle.

“We got the surveillance tapes from where the suspect vehicle was parked, but as of right now, we haven’t been able to identify the license plate based on the information from the videos,” said Lt. Brian Henning. “We are hoping that some witnesses will come forward to provide more information.”

Henning said they sent notice out to officers in the area to keep an eye out for a small silver pickup truck with a cap over the truck’s bed. The man who punched Kopplin was white, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, with short hair and facial hair. He was wearing a green jacket and a baseball cap at the time of the incident.

Henning said if police find the man, he would likely be cited with battery or disorderly conduct. Depending on the man’s intention for hitting Kopplin, he could face either a municipal citation or a state charge, if it is aggravated battery.