The Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department fired Thomas Dammer after he caused a minor collision and didn’t immediately report it. He still works as a part-time police officer in Oconomowoc.

A City of Oconomowoc police vehicle. Photo from the department’s Facebook page.

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

Thomas Dammer was fired a month after he tried to pay a man $40 when he backed his squad car into the man’s vehicle on the side of the road.

Dammer worked for the Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department for 16 years before being ousted in January 2024. Dammer violated integrity and truthfulness standards among several other departmental rules, according to the internal investigation The Badger Project obtained.

Dammer continues part-time work with the City of Oconomowoc Police Department, whose chief, Jim Pfister, referred to Dammer as “a highly-respected member” of his agency.

Dammer’s former department began investigating him after a minor roadside incident on Dec. 11, 2023. That evening, while Dammer was on patrol, he stopped to help a few teenage boys whose car was on the side of the road with a flat tire.

The driver’s father also came to the scene and parked behind Dammer. In an apparent attempt to adjust the light on his squad car to provide better illumination for changing the tire, Dammer reversed his squad into the father’s vehicle, causing minor damage.

Dammer did not call for police from West Allis or contact his supervisor, according to the internal investigation. He also waited to report the fender bender until the following afternoon. His shift log from that night references a motorist assist but does not include details about the collision.

The police interviewed the boy’s father, who said Dammer “seemed nervous” and tried to give him $40 to replace his license plate and holder. The father went on, saying he thought Dammer was trying to do the right thing but that “he knew the officer was trying to avoid writing a report” and getting “a mark on his record.”

The investigation initially ruled that Dammer violated multiple procedural standards and later added that Dammer also acted untruthfully.

“Officer Dammer did not convince me in the interview that failure to put the collision in his log was unintentional,” an investigating officer wrote. “I think it was intentional and falsifying an official police report.”

The $40 payment carried the appearance of a bribe, according to the investigation. Dammer told investigators that he realized how the payment could have been perceived but that that perception was inaccurate and that he wasn’t trying to pay anyone off.

Pfister, his current chief, said in an email to The Badger Project that Dammer has been part-time for his department for 20 years and also works special events in the city. Pfister said he was aware of why Dammer was fired. He said the investigation’s untruthfulness charge was added after the interview and unsubstantiated based on his own review of the documents.

“We have not had any issues of untruthfulness during the time he has worked,” Pfister wrote.

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