New police chief in Racine County was arrested for drunk driving in 2008

Waterford Police Chief Timothy O’Neill was arrested for OWI during his tenure as a cop in nearby Sturtevant. He said he took responsibility and used the incident to gain more “compassion and insight.”

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

The Town of Waterford Police Department has been without a permanent leader for nearly two years. The small department, at the center of controversy after a handful of its officers were investigated for misconduct in 2024, just welcomed Timothy O’Neill as police chief.

O’Neill, a veteran of the Sturtevant Police Department, was arrested for drunk driving in 2008 in Racine County, documents obtained by The Badger Project show.

“I took full responsibility for my decision that day. I did not fight the citation or the discipline that was given to me by my employer at the time,” O’Neill wrote in an email. “I have not repeated this mistake, and I was able to continue to serve my community.”

Now 44, O’Neill was 27 at the time. He was arrested after he caused a three-car accident on an off-ramp in the Town of Yorkville. He told the investigating sheriff’s deputy he and his friends were on the way home from a Milwaukee Brewers game. No one was injured, according to the incident report completed by the Racine County Sheriff’s Office.

“I detected a strong odor of intoxicants on his breath, his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and his speech was extremely slurred,” the deputy wrote in his report.

Wisconsin and New Jersey are the only states where a first offense for drunk driving is not punished criminally, according to a 2024 review from the National Conference of State Legislatures. In most other states, the offense would result in a misdemeanor charge.

The Waterford Town Board voted unanimously to appoint O’Neill to the position in August. His current salary is $96,000, according to the town clerk.

The former police chief, Matthew Johnson, retired in January 2024, months earlier than expected. Following his retirement, several officers were investigated for misconduct, including Sarah Polka and Nathaniel Schweitzer. The town board had decided to contract for police services with the Racine County Sheriff’s Office and disband the Waterford Police Department. Backlash from community members and an election reversed that decision.

Robert Ulander, one of five members of the town board, said the town’s specially formed police committee received 19 applications. The committee narrowed them to two options, but before the town board weighed in, the only other applicant removed his name from the running.

“The choice was pretty well made for us,” Ulander said.

Ulander accused Town Board Chair Tim Szeklinski of not being transparent in the search for police chief.

“Szeklinski continues to hide information,” Ulander wrote in a text. “I don’t know if it’s just from me or from the entire board. I never saw the background check.”

Szeklinski did not directly respond to Ulander’s accusation. Regarding the OWI, the town board chair said a third party conducted a background check on O’Neill as part of the application process.

“The town board was made aware of the history before he was appointed,” Szeklinski wrote in an emailed statement to The Badger Project. “Based on how old the 2008 OWI was, Mr. O’Neill’s openness, responsibility… and Mr. O’Neill’s proven track record after, the town board voted to extend an offer.”

But Ulander said he was impressed by O’Neill’s resume and interview.

“Everything that I saw and heard, I think we have an opportunity to turn this department around,” Ulander said. “I hope everybody gives him a period of grace so that he can get his toe in the water and set things right.”

O’Neill worked as an officer, captain and interim chief for the Sturtevant Police Department before he took the chief position in Waterford.

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