Wisconsin police chief sued, accused of unconstitutionally delaying traffic stops

A sheriff’s deputy and small-town police chief, Brendan Cutrell, is the subject of three federal lawsuits alleging he violated the Fourth Amendment rights of individuals he pulled over.

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

Brendan Cutrell, a deputy and police chief in central Wisconsin, is being sued in federal court for three different traffic stops his accusers say violated their constitutional rights.

Cutrell is a deputy for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and a part-time police chief for the Village of Neshkoro. Tucked inside Marquette County, the village is home to 412 people, according to census data from 2020.

A village employee responded to a message from The Badger Project asking about Cutrell.

“(Cutrell) said the lawsuits are open and pending regarding cases for Marquette County and Columbia County, so you should contact either Marquette County or Columbia County for any information you need for your report,” Anna Krueger, the village clerk, said in a voicemail.

The three federal cases are linked to unrelated traffic stops Cutrell made in 2025 and 2026.

Columbia County Sheriff Roger Brandner told The Badger Project that his agency is reviewing the Marquette County cases and has already completed an internal review of the Columbia County case. That review determined that Cutrell didn’t violate any policies.

Though the accusers are different in each case, their attorneys are from the same Madison law firm: Strang Bradley. 

Cutrell’s accusers all claim he violated their Fourth Amendment rights, which provide protections from unreasonable searches and seizures. The plaintiffs are seeking civil damages and reimbursement for their legal fees from the counties, Marquette and Columbia, that employed Cutrell at the time.

Two of the lawsuits stem from separate traffic stops Cutrell made in 2023 when he was working as a deputy for the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office. Both lawsuits were filed in February 2025, and each alleges that Cutrell “illegally prolonged the detention” of the individuals he stopped.

Marquette County, named as a defendant in both those cases, denied these claims in its response briefs submitted to the court.

One of the two lawsuits alleges that Cutrell detained Juway Damm, who was living in Illinois at the time, while he was on his way to a cabin in the Wisconsin Dells on April 24, 2023.

Cutrell wrote in his police report that he was immediately suspicious of Damm because he was “slower than normal” pulling over. But the dash camera, the lawsuit claims, shows Damm pulling over immediately when Cutrell flipped on the flashing lights of his squad car.

Cutrell wrote that he became increasingly suspicious of Damm, requested a canine and put spike strips in front of one of Damm’s tires. Damm never indicated he would flee, the complaint reads. And though Damm’s insurance was valid and Cutrell printed a warning for a loud exhaust, the complaint claims Cutrell unconstitutionally delayed his release to wait for a canine. Cutrell later arrested Damm for operating while intoxicated, and the canine found a small amount of marijuana in the car, the lawsuit states.

On April 25, 2023, law enforcement cited Damm for a first-offense OWI. That citation was dismissed that June. The district attorney also charged Damm with possessing drug paraphernalia and THC. Both of those charges are misdemeanors and were dismissed in August 2023, according to the Marquette County Clerk of Courts. 

Damm “filed a motion to suppress the evidence and upon review of the motion, the State concluded that there was no articulable reason for the extension of the stop to wait for the K9 officer to arrive,” wrote Marquette County District Attorney Clifford Burdon in an email. “Based on my conclusion, I dismissed the case.”

The second lawsuit against Marquette County claims that Cutrell unconstitutionally prolonged another traffic stop in December 2023.

Cutrell cited Brian Burnside, for speeding and the dark tint on his windows, according to the lawsuit filed by Burnside’s attorneys. 911 dispatchers confirmed Burnside had no warrants for his arrest, that his license was current and his car was properly registered, the lawsuit states. 

Cutrell then told Burnside and his companion, who was driving with him to the Dells, that they were not free to leave and would need to wait for a canine to arrive. He told them he was extending the stop because Burnside had been deviating in the lane and pulled over too slowly. Cutrell also said he could smell cologne, which could be used to mask other odors.

After the canine arrived, police found marijuana and a firearm in Burnside’s car, which led to criminal charges. A judge in Marquette County dismissed those charges. 

The third case, filed in July, arose from an arrest in May 2025. Cutrell, then working as a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputy, wrote in his report that he stopped Dennis Lloyd, the driver, and Ashley Stowell, the passenger, because the light over their license plate was out. Squad car video, however, shows the license plate visible and illuminated, according to the civil lawsuit filed by Lloyd and Stowell.

“Indeed, Cutrell ran the Jeep’s license plate before pulling it over, and when it returned to Stowell, with whom he had prior contact, he requested a K9,” the lawsuit reads.

Wisconsin law stipulates that the license plate must be lit and visible from 50 feet away, Brandner wrote in his email. It wasn’t until Cutrell got out of his squad and approached Lloyd and Stowell that he realized the plate was illuminated, but the light was dim.

Brandner emphasized that all three lawsuits are from the same law firm, and wrote that, “There are active criminal cases currently going through our circuit court that are associated with this traffic stop including an OWI fourth offense and possession of controlled substance.”

The complaint states that Lloyd was later arrested but never charged.

However, online court records show Lloyd being charged nearly a year later in April 2026. The underlying incident matches the date of the traffic stop in May 2025. Lloyd faces a fourth offense OWI felony, a misdemeanor for possessing THC and another felony for operating with a restricted and controlled substance. His next court date is Sept. 30.

Burnside’s and Damm’s civil suits are waiting for a judge to decide whether Cutrell is liable. 

In the Lloyd and Stowell case, Columbia County and Cutrell, the defendants, have yet to respond to the plaintiffs’ complaint, which they filed in July.

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