(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department)
Kenosha, Wis. — A preschool teacher at Salem Elementary School was arrested late Saturday night after authorities say she ingested THC edibles and began behaving violently inside her Salem Lakes home.
Melissa E. Briggs, 42, was taken into custody by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department just after 11 p.m. Deputies responded to the 10000 block of 256th Avenue after her husband called 911, reporting that Briggs was experiencing a mental health crisis and pounding on a door inside the residence.
(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department)
Briggs had reportedly recently lost a close family member and was struggling emotionally in the days leading up to the incident.
Deputies found probable cause to arrest Briggs on suspicion of disorderly conduct and resisting/obstructing a peace officer, both misdemeanors. She was transported to the Kenosha County Jail and booked at 12:03 a.m. Sunday. She was released on bail at 9:44 a.m., according to jail records.
“The [Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office] can confirm that on the evening of 03-29-2025, deputies responded to [the 10000 block of] 256th Avenue regarding a family trouble complaint,” said Lt. Dan Ruth. “Melissa Briggs was arrested for Disorderly Conduct/ Domestic Violence as well as Resisting / Obstructing an Officer,” he added.
District Superintendent Dr. Vicki King said the following in a statement to KCE:“Mrs. Melissa Briggs, long-time Salem School teacher, recently experienced the profound loss of her father this past week and has requested bereavement leave and extended time off to grieve and spend time with her family during this difficult time. Once we were made aware of an arrest involving Melissa that was made this morning, we looked into the situation further, and have not been informed of any formal charges being filed.We understand there may be questions, but we ask for compassion and respect for her privacy during this time.
We remain committed to maintaining a safe, supportive environment for all of our students and staff. “The Sheriff’s Department has referred charges to the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, which is expected to make a charging decision in the coming months.”
KCE spoke with parents at Salem Elementary who insist that Mrs. Briggs be drug tested immediately.
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47 Responses
Vote No
On wilmot school tax increases
No
Can you explain why? Not that it has anything to do with this article. Just interested in hearing your reasons.
Mostly due to the lack of concern from the ex-Illinois superintendent.
No. This was an incident at the persons home. And the person/teacher is already on requested leave.
If anything the administrator should have refrained from any comment. But to be completely transparent the administrator explained to the public and Salem Grade School parents that this person/teacher was not expected to be in class or at work for the foreseeable future.
The administrator expressed concern for the teacher and informed the public all the while being neutral in the future disposition of this event.
I think the administrator did exactly as she should have. Information wrapped up in privacy. Both sides against the middle.
What are you talking about! There will be no tax increase. Please please please do not spread misinformation that will only hurt the education of my kids. I am devestated to see this. Your taxes will not go up because of the Wilmot referendum!
What are you talking about! There will be no tax increase. Please please please do not spread misinformation that will only hurt the education of my kids. I am devastated to see this. Your taxes will not go up because of the Wilmot referendum! You do know that the Wilmot Referendum has nothing to do with a Salem school teacher? They are not even the same district!
Sounds like she should have received mental health treatment instead of being arrested. Police in this county are too quick to arrest the mentally unstable people when they should be taken to the hospital to get the proper treatment.
And what mental health treatment do you think she would have been given in this instance? The only immediate mental health care available, is either a Chapter 51 emergency detention, which wouldn’t apply in this case, or a voluntary commitment. She allegedly committed crimes, so she goes to jail. If it’s determined during court proceedings that she needs mental health treatment, it can be ordered by the judge.
And when you commit a crime , even disorderly conduct you should be punished that is why our society is the way it is…
She’s unstable due to drugs… let’s not forget that’s ILLEGAL here
How can you get charged with disorderly conduct in your own home?
947.01 Disorderly conduct.
(1) Whoever, in a public or private place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
very easily. i was once upon a time
Quit whining liberal.
Thank you!
Sounds like she’s unstable due to the death of her father. Getting violent due to edibles . . . I doubt it. She wasn’t charged for illegal drugs, let’s not forget.
Sounds like a drug overdose. Accidental or intentional, she should have been sent to the hospital and tested, evaluated and treated by a Dr. in the emergency room.
Just that 911 call for an ambulance would have generated a deputy response to the home.
Maybe in those circumstances the paramedics might have asked the deputy for help in securing this woman and got her to the immediate help she needed. A night in an hospital bed instead of a ride to jail. Where I’m sure she got NOTHING MORE than a cot in a cell to sober up in.
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong here. Every time an ambulance gets called, a deputy shows up even if it’s just to observe and assist as needed ??
Husband should have thought it through a little more. Unless he did ?
Yes 100%!
Sometimes it takes an instant like this to get mental health help through the legal end. Judge can order it. It could be part of a plea deal. But we’ve all been under stress and we’ve all lost lead ones. Unfortunately the law doesn’t see it if it’s mental health or domestic violence.
We all go through tough times. Sometimes things can push us over the edge unexpectedly. Sometimes we don’t know our limit until it’s too late. We are only human. It’s sad that this article to written to make her sound like a horrible person and to tie it in with teachers and schools. This article feels incredibly insensitive and targeted. This is someone who is clearly going through an unfortunate time outside of her occupation and outside of the school which lead to an unfortunate event with an unfortunate outcome. I hope she gets the help she needs to find mental peace and closure.
Completely agree. It has nothing to do with Salem school or her job. She understood she was going through a tough time and asked for some time off to grieve. Her husband called because he was worried. Leave her be.
Don’t do drugs and you won’t get arrested. Not that hard.
Kenosha County needs to learn crisis response strategies and quit arresting the mentally ill people. We do have hospitals to help them jails are not for everyone. Stop making up charges just to arrest people in crisis. Do better.
So disorderly conduct/domestic violence is a made up charge now???????????
Her husband called for mental health crisis cops turned it into domestic abuse/ disorderly conduct. That’s what they do
Her husband called because she had taken an edible and was out of control.
Taking too much THC just makes a person unable to stand up or function. They sort of go into a fetal position, become still and quiet, and wait until it wears off.
Not to mention, eat everything in the house.
Some synthetic weed has been known to impact people differently.
Disorderly conduct within your own home? Wow.
Yes. It happens hundreds of times in this county. You can’t commit violence anywhere. Inside a home, in an airplane, anywhere.
Kenosha county finest!
These officers nowadays just want to arrest anyone! When my drunk ex-husband would get violent and smash plates and doors and trash our house, they straight up told me he was allowed to! They said It was his house too…if I was stupid enough to stay there and call them again …next time I called they would arrest me for staying there 😔…. Make it make sense!!!??????
It has EVERYTHING to do with her job. She is a 4K teacher.
Drugs are bad kids, mmmmkay?
As much as it is easy to dogpile on Kenosha area teachers and admin lately, may I suggest a slightly novel idea-why don’t we all kick back and let them do a little investigating on this?
She was at home and grieving her dad’s death. Her husband was worried, this has nothing to do with the school. Know the facts before judging.
Everybody grieves, not everybody does drugs and melts down, and not everyone who grieves and melts down is going to be in charge of a classroom.
Unfortunately, law enforcement officers, particularly in this county, have few resources when dealing with mental health crisis situations. “Chapter 51” is available only when there is a threat of harm to the person or others. Kenosha County’s facilities are lacking when compared to even smaller counties. We don’t know all the facts and so arrest may have been the only tool available at the moment. An arrest does not mean that she’s guilty. Mental responsibility is a defense to the charges and, more specifically, it may remove the element of intent in the resisting/obstructing charge. However, officers at the scene are not required to sort through the potential defenses. That could create chaos and endanger them and the community. They could revisit their decision later and, of course, the DA may elect to decline or defer prosecution. (This does look like a situation where a deferred prosecution is a viable choice and fairly common — hold the case open and dismiss with counseling and no further incidents.). I won’t second guess the actions of the officers at the scene. I wasn’t there and I don’t know what went on. It’s good to hear about situations like this because it does illustrate that the jail often winds up as the repository for the mentally ill of last resort because other options weren’t available.
I feel bad for her loss.
Reading the article caused emotional anxiety within me. I resorted to ingesting edibles myself.
I ate 2 Dove bars, a whole roll of Girl scout mint cookies then an entire bag of Haribo gummies. Thank God it didn’t result in pounding on doors or resisting arrest due to my eating disorder.
My spouse just stared at me with that look.
People handle stress in different ways.
This incident shows how not to
At least she’s out in time so KUSD gets another vote for extra Wilmot school cash.
I think what Mrs. Briggs said was very valuable at this time and sadly even having this posted with cause years of in needed trauma. Some things should be kept private when it comes to mental health this is so important.
“We understand there may be questions, but we ask for compassion and respect for her privacy during this time. We remain committed to maintaining a safe, supportive environment for all of our students and staff. “
You’re valuable .
All you wonderful parents sending your kids to be raised by complete strangers, you don’t really love your kids, you just want pet kids. You really, really, really suck.
So anyone that sends their kids to public school want’s pet kids? Wow. So home school is the only way to love your kids?
Yes.
She’s innocent!
do you think she still was able to keep her job? my son (now a junior at central) and daughter (graduated he last year) went there years ago and knew her as an amazing teacher with a great personality?