Madison (Wisconsin) Police Department Compensates for Secret Federal Law Enforcement

In a nation now afflicted with violent, masked federal agents in unmarked cars, ordinary residents in Madison, Wisconsin understandably have legitimate concerns when they see an unmarked government vehicle. To reassure residents that local unmarked government cars are not confused with vehicles from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Madison, Wisconsin, has begun identifying most of its unmarked cars to avoid understandable anxiety:

This month, the department added placards to the windshields of more than 150 unmarked sedans, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks.

Those unmarked vehicles are less recognizable than the department’s squad cars, and they’re typically driven by detectives, commanders or community outreach officers. 

The new placards explain in English and Spanish that the vehicles belong to MPD. 

Madison Police Chief John Patterson said the goal is to address situations when someone can tell a car is being used by law enforcement, but they can’t tell what agency it belongs to. 

“(There’s) also federal law enforcement coming and going from the city,” Patterson said in an interview with WPR. “Our community sees a lot of different law enforcement presence and we think it’s important … to always know who they’re seeing and what the activity may or may not be.”

See Sarah Lehr, To avoid confusion with ICE, Madison police add placards to unmarked cars ('Officers will still be allowed to go undercover in certain instances'), Wisconsin Public Radio, February 17, 2026.