Beaver Dam cop arrested for domestic disorderly conduct in 2023

Michael Kuehn, a Beaver Dam patrolman for more than 20 years, was arrested for disorderly conduct in 2023 after his wife called 911 amid an argument. Both were cited.

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

A long-time Beaver Dam police officer was arrested for disorderly conduct in 2023 after his wife called 911 as she was trying to leave their home with their children. The Waukesha County District Attorney opted not to pursue a criminal prosecution against him, but both he and his wife were later cited and fined. 

The officer, Michael Kuehn, has worked as a patrolman for the Beaver Dam Police Department since 2005, his chief, John Kreuziger, told The Badger Project in an email. 

In separate, noncriminal cases in Dodge County, both Kuehn and his wife pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct ordinance violations. They have since filed for divorce, according to online court records.

When asked why Kreuziger chose to keep Kuehn employed, he said, “All personnel matters, and especially this one, were handled by the city’s attorney, which I cannot discuss.”

When Kuehn’s wife called 911 shortly after attempting to leave their home with the children, Dodge County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived first and requested an assist. Deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office then responded to avoid a conflict of interest because Kuehn works for Beaver Dam and often works with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.

Columbia County deputies arrived to meet Kuehn’s wife in the driveway; she described the situation as a “disaster,” according to the report The Badger Project obtained in a records request. She told deputies that she called 911 because she was tired of Kuehn using degrading language toward her and their children and wanted someone to tell him his behavior isn’t right, the documents note.

She reported numerous examples of Kuehn’s behavior to the deputies, including how he called one of their children and her expletive-laced insults, though she said she doesn’t fear Kuehn would physically harm her.

After they argued that day, she decided to take their young children and leave. Kuehn was speaking to the girls through an open car door, she said, when she told him to close the door and then she began pulling out of the garage slowly. Kuehn then yelled for her to pull forward, saying he was trapped between the corner of the garage and the car door. 

When Kuehn spoke to deputies, he admitted to calling his wife a degrading insult during their argument and that after, he turned his back on her. He then said she struck him once in the back and once in the head, but out of sight of the children. Afterward, he began recording and went to the car to ask the girls if they saw their mother strike him. While in the garage, he said his wife backed the car out and briefly pinned his arm between the open car door and the frame of the garage. A mark on his upper arm was consistent with a pinch, one of the deputies noted in his report.

In Kuehn’s conversation with the Columbia County deputies, he said his wife purposely makes him seem like the bad guy. He said he tries to keep their arguments from happening in front of the children but that his wife “would not stop,” the deputy wrote.

Deputies also spoke with one of the young girls. She told them that her mother had been crying all day because of an ongoing argument. The girl told deputies that Kuehn said her mother hit him but that she didn’t believe him. She also told deputies that he “hurts my feelings a lot of days” and “every other day he scares me.” She recalled a past incident when Kuehn reportedly said violent and profane things to her.

“It appeared that both parties had similar stories,” according to the report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. His wife, however, denied ever striking him and said that she backed out of the garage very slowly and that only a few inches of the car door could have touched the rail of the garage. The video Kuehn captured shows more than a couple inches were within the frame of the garage, according to the report.

The report marks Kuehn as the primary aggressor due to his language and name-calling but notes both were at fault. Neither Kuehn nor his wife said they feared for their safety. 

To avoid a conflict of interest, the Portage County District Attorney’s Office, which often works with Beaver Dam Police, gave Kuehn’s case to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, which eventually opted not to pursue criminal charges against him.

“The allegations against Michael Kuehn involve entirely verbal name-calling, with no threats or acts of harm,” wrote then Waukesha District Attorney Sue Opper in a letter. “Given that, it would be difficult to prove disorderly conduct beyond a reasonable doubt and his words, though abusive, may be protected by the First Amendment in any criminal prosecution. I would refer this back for any appropriate citations.”

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, likely on behalf of Columbia County investigators, issued ordinance citations against them, said Dodge County District Attorney Andrea Will. Both have since paid their $150 fines.

The Badger Project is an independent news nonprofit in Wisconsin.