Dave Riewestahl

As Eau Claire County jail administrator, Riewestahl worked with election officials and voting rights groups to hold two voter registration drives. He also enabled access to Wisconsin’s voter registration website on jail tablets and arranged scanning of identification documents for eligible voters.

July 25, 2021Supports Civil Rights

Source: investigatemidwest.org

A federal judge dismissed Gregg Shiver’s civil rights complaint naming Riewestahl and other Eau Claire court and jail officials because it combined unrelated claims against different defendants. The judge allowed an amended complaint. The order did not find Riewestahl liable for the allegations.

September 17, 2026

Source: cases.justia.com

Charles Marshall named Eau Claire County Sheriff Dave Riewestahl and other local officials in a federal civil rights lawsuit. The accessible docket recorded the complaint’s filing and contained no ruling on liability.

September 9, 2026

Source: dockets.justia.com

Riewestahl said his deputies used pepperballs to remove three people from a garage after a homeowner reported trespassing, and then turned them over to federal immigration agents. He said the homeowner declined charges and none were taken to the county jail. Advocates disputed the trespass account and questioned the cooperation.

February 17, 2026

Source: wisconsinexaminer.com

Riewestahl presented a request to spend $37,500 of opioid settlement money on court navigation services, or help using the court system. The county’s Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee discussed the request and moved it forward for county board consideration.

July 22, 2025

Source: cms2.revize.com

Riewestahl released an external investigation into Silver Jenkins’s March 2023 death in the Eau Claire County jail and announced that Wisconsin’s Department of Justice had declined criminal charges. The report recorded staff concerns about severe weight loss and denied requests for hospital care. Riewestahl said he had asked about mental health detention and acknowledged the sheriff’s responsibility for her care. The report did not establish a finding of personal liability against him.

June 9, 2025

Source: wisconsinexaminer.com

Riewestahl joined a University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire panel about people returning to society after criminal convictions. The event followed a screening of “Correcting the Narrative” and included legal and community leaders.

November 6, 2023

Source: wisconsin.edu

Riewestahl’s office partnered with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department to make free naloxone nasal spray and fentanyl test strips available in a jail lobby vending machine. Naloxone reverses opioid overdoses, and the supplies were available around the clock without questions.

June 15, 2023

Source: weau.com

Riewestahl released the sheriff’s investigation of financial shortfalls in Eau Claire County’s human services department after legal review and redactions. He also published the prosecutor’s decision that criminal charges were not appropriate and included responses from officials named in the report.

May 26, 2023

Source: bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com

Riewestahl joined Eau Claire County’s Opioid Settlement Taskforce after the county board confirmed appointments of law enforcement, health, human services, and community representatives.

May 16, 2023

Source: eauclairecountywi.granicus.com

As an Eau Claire County deputy, Riewestahl helped State Trooper Bill Lindeman give two-person cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a woman in cardiac arrest. She regained a pulse and began breathing before she was taken to a hospital.

November 18, 2015

Source: statetroopers.org