Andrew Sundstrom, a former Muskego Police K9 officer, was accused of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend, also a cop. He was forced out of the job but not charged and says the allegations were “manufactured.” 

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

A K9 officer for a police department in southeastern Wisconsin resigned in 2024 amid an internal investigation that began after his ex-girlfriend, herself a police officer in the area, alleged that he sexually assaulted her. He was never criminally charged and is now a seasonal water patrol officer for a police department 20 miles away.

Andrew Sundstrom started at the Muskego Police Department in 2015 and voluntarily resigned in February 2024. He told The Badger Project the claims against him were “manufactured” to “divert attention” from his ex-girlfriend, who he believes was “caught cheating.”

The Muskego Police Department’s internal investigation, which The Badger Project obtained in a records request, found Sundstrom’s accuser “more credible.” A department detective viewed the allegations as constituting probable cause for an arrest if it had been a criminal investigation.

“Sundstrom’s misconduct and his record of service warrant his termination for the good of the law enforcement service,” wrote Muskego Police Chief Steve Westphal in a statement to the Muskego Police and Fire Commission. “The reprehensible nature of Sundstrom’s conduct cannot be understated.” 

The alleged sexual assault occurred in September 2023 when Sundstrom and his ex-girlfriend, who is not identified in the investigation, returned to his home after getting dinner together, months after they broke up. She told investigators they originally separated on bad terms and that afterward, Sundstrom shared intimate photos of her with others, an accusation he disputed. They decided to meet to clear the air. 

A few days later, they went to dinner and after, drove separately to his house.

Sundstrom, in a statement he sent to The Badger Project, claimed that at that dinner, the two reconciled, resolved to try to make things work and went back to his home to “consummate the renewed relationship.” He also said that she sent him a sexually suggestive text when both were driving to his home. He did not share this message with The Badger Project when asked.

She told investigators that when she saw Sundstrom in September, she asked about the progress of a home remodeling project he started when they were dating. When they met for dinner on Sept. 22, 2023, she said she agreed to help complete it. 

Sundstrom was placed on administrative leave Oct. 3, 2023, and told The Badger Project he didn’t learn why until more than a week later. Sundstrom was interviewed by a Muskego Police investigator on Oct. 12. In that interview, Sundstrom said he and his ex went to his home for sex the night of Sept. 22, 2023. 

An investigator detailed her story in the report: “Sundstrom placed his hand around her throat and forcefully kissed her.” She “tried to ‘fight off’ Sundstrom, but she was unable.” 

Rather than uphold the high expectations required of an officer, you preyed on an individual who was in a physically vulnerable and isolated environment … There is no room in the law enforcement profession for that type of behavior.

Muskego Police Chief Steve Westphal wrote about Andrew Sundstrom

She told investigators that during the assault, Sundstrom said, “Maybe I should stop. This is a little rapey.” 

When a police investigator asked about that comment, Sundstrom eventually denied saying it.

When asked in the interview if he used “force to pin her down” and “grab her by her neck,” Sundstrom said he may have grabbed her neck at one point, but implied it wasn’t violent. 

Days later, she told Sundstrom she didn’t want to communicate anymore, according to the investigation. Sundstrom told The Badger Project that she ended the relationship Oct. 1, 2023, with no “warning or explanation.”

A few days later, his ex-girlfriend told investigators that he was again sharing her private photos with others. That’s when she said she went to the Muskego Police Department. Her original intention was to get “it to stop,” she told investigators. But she eventually shared the whole story.

When a detective asked Sundstrom if he ever shared photos of her, Sundstrom responded, “Is it possible someone looked at my phone? Perhaps, but I don’t specifically recall.”

Sundstrom told The Badger Project that he discovered his ex was dating another man when she and Sundstrom were beginning to reconcile.

“It is obvious to me,” Sundstrom wrote in an emailed statement to The Badger Project, “that she was embarrassed that she was caught cheating and manufactured these claims to divert attention from her infidelity.” 

Westphal, Sundstrom’s police chief at the time, wrote in the investigation that while Sundstrom was able to recall specific details during his interview, when asked specifically about the alleged assault, he struggled to remember details and required repeated prompting. 

“Rather than uphold the high expectations required of an officer, you preyed on an individual who was in a physically vulnerable and isolated environment and forcefully engaged in non-consensual sexual conduct,” Westphal wrote in an Oct. 27, 2023, notice addressed to Sundstrom. “There is no room in the law enforcement profession for that type of behavior.” 

At the end of October 2023, his accuser filed for a restraining order against Sundstrom in the Waukesha County Courthouse. 

“I am requesting a temporary restraining order be put in place to keep Andrew from contacting me or harassing me, going near my residence or my place of employment, and to stop any continued character defamation,” she wrote in a narrative submitted to the court. 

In November 2023, the court determined she “had met her burden of proof” for a 10-year injunction, according to a report written by Muskego Police Capt. Nicholas Fons. The restraining order, according to court documents from February 2024, is now set to expire in 2027.

Sundstrom’s current boss, Eric Nowicki, is the chief of the Town of Burlington Police Department’s Marine Division.

“If I thought he was of ill character,” Nowicki said, “one, I wouldn’t associate with him, and two, I definitely wouldn’t have hired him because he represents the Town of Burlington and myself.”

Nowicki worked for the Muskego Police Department for about three decades, overlapping with Sundstrom for a few years before Nowicki retired.

Nowicki said he doubted the woman’s credibility and said the investigation and her eventual attempt to get a restraining order against Sundstrom “didn’t pass the smell test.”

“If some of these allegations were true, I’d be the first one to cast judgment,” Nowicki continued. “But I don’t feel that was the case whatsoever in this specific incident.”

Nowicki told The Badger Project that before he retired from the Muskego Police Department, Fons was determined to have Sundstrom ousted and even told Nowicki that he would make it his goal to get Sundstrom fired.

“Once you end up on his list,” Sundstrom told The Badger Project about Fons, “he will find any way he can to mess with your career.” 

Westphal wrote in an emailed statement that these allegations amounted to “hearsay” and that he makes “all personnel decisions.” 

“At the end of the day,” Westphal told The Badger Project, “I’m going to stand by my investigation and that it was done fairly and impartially.”

Nowicki attended one of the restraining order hearings and said he saw Sundstrom’s accuser lie, but also said he couldn’t recall what she allegedly lied about.

A dishonest police officer can be the subject of what’s known as a Brady letter, which is usually written by a district attorney. If an officer with a Brady violation were later asked to testify in court, prosecutors would have an obligation to inform the defense that the officer has documented credibility problems. 

Sue Opper was the Waukesha County District Attorney at the time of the investigation. 

“At no time was I investigating the accuser or considering a Brady letter or anything like that. No, definitely not,” Opper told The Badger Project. “I have no concerns about the way this case was handled.”

Westphal told The Badger Project that the woman later wanted to pursue criminal charges, but after conversations with the district attorney, ultimately opted against it. Instead, Sundstrom agreed, in a written agreement signed by Opper, to resign from the department in exchange for not being prosecuted.

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