An investigation by The Badger Project found Sheriff Walter Zuehlke got over $20k for his K9 after quitting the trainings. The county asked him to repay that plus interest, but settled to avoid a costly court battle.
Some family members say department leadership is at least partly to blame, accusing it of ignoring struggling deputies. The department says it had mental health programs in place and has since increased them.
Robert Bliven, a Wisconsin state trooper, was arrested in September after deputies investigated him for drinking on the job. They charged him with operating a firearm while intoxicated.
The police department was knocked for “shoddy record keeping” and a “lack of leadership” in a 2019 investigation. A police chief hired the same year says he’s made major changes to revamp the organization.
Ex-Captain Daniel Gruebele pleaded no contest to the citation last year. His last day as the commander of the Northeast Region in Fond du Lac came less than a week after The Badger Project reported the incident.
Derrick Rotta resigned his police position in Menasha in 2024 after being investigated for an allegation that he was “the most racist person at the department.” The Neenah Police Department hired him last year.
Capt. Daniel Gruebele, commander of the State Patrol’s Northeast Region at the Fond du Lac post, was cited for disorderly conduct in the summer after his girlfriend accused him of coercive sexual behavior.
Scott Schaut first quit a leadership position at the sheriff’s office after The Badger Project requested documents on his job performance. He resigned from the department entirely last week.
A veteran of the City of Waukesha Police Department quit in 2023 after he was arrested for driving drunk and knocking down a light pole with his Jeep. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office hired him in March.
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.
Andrew Straszkowski resigned from the Lake Hallie Police Department on the day of a disciplinary meeting regarding his use of force and insubordination. He’s now working at a nearby police department.
A former Sauk County Sheriff’s deputy is accused of snapping the photo from the jail’s video surveillance system without the inmate’s knowledge and then sharing it with a colleague.
After initially denying requests, St. Croix County released records regarding a former deputy after The Badger Project sued. But the county has refused to pay the journalism organization’s attorney fees.
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.
The Badger Project sued the Wind Point Police Department after it denied records requests related to an officer who resigned in 2023. The village agreed to produce what they had and pay attorney’s fees.
Waterford Police Chief Timothy O’Neill was arrested for OWI during his tenure as a cop in nearby Sturtevant. He said he took full responsibility and used the incident to gain more “compassion and insight.”
Following The Badger Project’s reporting, the Richland Center Police Department and Richland County Sheriff’s Office have discontinued a minimum $25 fee for records, which experts said was illegal.
The law enforcement agencies’ minimum fees, experts say, contradict Wisconsin state law that states any charges for records requests must be tied to a calculation of the actual cost of producing the records.
