Investigative story on fired law enforcement officers rehired at new agencies nominated in the category of Best Public Service Story or Series.

BY NATHAN DENZIN, The Badger Project

The Milwaukee Press Club announced its finalists for its 92nd Annual Milwaukee Press Club Excellent in Wisconsin Journalism awards, and The Badger Project was named among them.

The Badger Project is a top-3 finalist in the Best Public Service Story or Series for managing editor Peter Cameron’s story on Wisconsin officers back on the job after being fired or forced out.

Cameron found that nearly 200 law enforcement officers currently employed in the state were fired or forced out from previous jobs in law enforcement, resigned in lieu of termination or quit before completion of an internal investigation. 

Some fired officers were simply novices who didn’t perform at an acceptable level during their initial probationary period, when the bar to fire them is very low, experts say. But for others, misconduct including lying, public intoxication and sexual harassment triggered their termination.

You can read the story here, and see the full list of finalists here.

The story was done in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch.

This is the second consecutive year that Cameron will take home an award from the Milwaukee Press Club, after earning bronze in 2021 in the Best Explanatory Story or Series category for his series on COVID-19’s impact on education he did for Wisconsin Watch.

The Badger Project is a non-partisan, non-profit outlet, supported by reader donations and grants.

The 2022 Gridiron Awards event will be held at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee on May 6. At the event, the story will win either gold, silver or bronze in its category.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.