Scott Schaut, who had been the department’s night-shift sergeant, was on an improvement plan when The Badger Project requested those records. He resigned from that leadership position shortly after.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

A deputy in the Waushara County Sheriff’s Office who has a documented history of inconsistency in his police work resigned from his sergeant position in September, just days after The Badger Project requested records pertaining to his job performance.

Now a patrol deputy, Scott Schaut had been the patrol night sergeant, essentially the officer in charge for the third shift.

The Badger Project made the request for documents regarding Schaut on Sep. 18, and he resigned from his leadership position on Sep. 22, according to his resignation letter. His hourly wage dropped from $36.03 to $34.13, according to the county administrator.

Schaut had previously been on a performance improvement plan with the department, during which he conducted what may have been an illegal search, documents from the plan note.

Before conducting a house check in the village of Coloma in April, Schaut and other deputies had received verbal permission from a caller to ensure nobody was in the home. Body camera video showed Schaut looking in boxes, the refrigerator and washing machine, according to a sheriff’s office report, areas too small for a person to hide.

For breaking department policy, the top administration of the sheriff’s office decided Schaut would be penalized with two unpaid days off, then-Chief Deputy Jim Lietz wrote on the report.

Upon his resignation from the sergeant’s position, Lt. Stacy Vaccaro ended the improvement plan.

“Overall, Sgt. Schaut’s performance has been mediocre without much change,” Vaccaro wrote in the final report. “After speaking with Schaut about concerns or issues, he would acknowledge his understanding, improve for a short period of time, and then regress back.”

Schaut, Vaccaro and Sheriff Walter Zuehlke did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Schaut has had trouble with consistency in other court cases.

In a case from 2024, Schaut reported receiving consent to enter a man’s home, in which he found drug paraphernalia. However, when a judge asked Schaut to note on an audio recording where he had received that consent, the officer said he could not, according to the court transcript. That led to the judge dismissing the paraphernalia charge because Schaut had not obtained consent and had no warrant.

In another case involving underage drinking in 2023, Waushara County District Attorney Matthew Leusink and Assistant District Attorney Joshua Zamzow alerted the court that Schaut had misremembered facts during his testimony, leading to the dismissal of a citation.

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