Derrick Rotta resigned his police position in Menasha in 2024 while being investigated for an allegation that he was “the most racist person at the department.” The Neenah Police Department hired him last year.

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

A Winnebago County officer resigned in 2024 when his home department investigated accusations from other employees alleging he made racist, sexist and homophobic comments during his time there. He now works at the Neenah Police Department five miles away.

Derrick Rotta submitted his resignation to the Menasha Police Department in October 2024 after five years there. Menasha’s internal investigation outlines policy violations ranging from disobedience to discrimination.

“Information was received about comments made by current employees that Officer Rotta is the most racist person at the police department,” according to a synopsis included in the Menasha Police Department’s investigation, which The Badger Project obtained in a records request.

Employees whose names were redacted recalled in the report that Rotta would talk about how using the N-word isn’t racist, that you can distinguish a Black person by how they walk, and that Adolf Hitler had been “demonized” and wasn’t a bad guy.

Neenah Police Chief Aaron Olson said his department conducted a thorough background investigation before hiring Rotta, including a polygraph test, a psychological evaluation and numerous interviews with co-workers and friends, “none of which indicated racist or negative behavior,” Olson wrote in an email to The Badger Project.

Olson went on, writing that Rotta’s comments amounted to “gallows humor” but that “Officer Rotta acknowledged the comments, has taken responsibility, and has demonstrated exemplary conduct while serving with our department.”

Olson told The Badger Project that Rotta did not want to comment for the story.

In a Neenah Police Department memo Olson sent to The Badger Project, Assistant Chief Jeff Bernice described Rotta taking accountability and clarifying that his comments were made to his friends, in a joking manner and away from the public.

The same memo explained how Rotta’s resignation agreement required the City of Menasha to discontinue its investigation without making a formal conclusion. The investigation still says the allegations against Rotta included corroborating statements from multiple officer interviews. The 64-page report released by the department redacts nearly every name while some pages are almost entirely blacked out.

The accusers’ names are redacted in the Menasha Police Department’s report, but the phrasing indicates at least some of the allegations originated from Rotta’s fellow officers. The complaints span years and one officer recounted having to tell Rotta at least 30 times to stop making inappropriate comments.

The Menasha Police Department flagged Rotta as a negative separation in a database with the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Olson said the Neenah Police Department spoke to Rotta’s former coworkers, who were targeted by Rotta’s comments; he said they had nothing negative to share and spoke well of him.

“We have received consistently positive feedback from staff and the public regarding Officer Rotta,” Olson wrote to The Badger Project.

During one shift, Rotta reportedly said, “Well, of course, a woman can’t drive,” in response to a female officer who admitted she was having trouble parking, according to the Menasha investigation. At a meal later in the shift, Rotta is described saying, “Yep, typical woman doesn’t want help until she messes it up and then a man has to fix it” and “just wait until the election when one of your kind is elected.”

Dr. Valerie DeLain, the psychologist who evaluated Rotta as part of the Neenah Police Department’s background check, wrote, “Other than factors involved in his previous employment with regard to the internal investigation, no concerns are identified. The candidate has not identified any problems with bias or prejudice and has expressed ownership for his role in the incident. It is likely that he has learned from his mistakes in this regard.”

The psychologist, who provides public safety evaluations as a part of her regular services, also wrote that Rotta is enthusiastic about his policing career.

Rotta has been with the Neenah Police Department for about a year. Olson said Rotta has received numerous accolades, including from a woman who self-identified as a minority and praised Rotta’s professionalism, saying it changed her perception of the police.

Olson said his department employs 42 police officers and is fully staffed.

The Badger Project is a reader-supported, independent news nonprofit in Wisconsin.