UPDATE: Everest Metro Police Chief Clayton Schulz under investigation following sexual harassment complaint
The Wausonian has now obtained a copy of the conclusion of the investigation.
UPDATE: This story has been updated as The Wausonian has received a copy of the letter from the law firm investigating the incident. The new information is at the bottom of the story.
See the latest story with a breakdown of the full Everest Metro investigation report here.
And see what happened to the person who filed the complaint here.
Everest Metro’s Police Chief is facing allegations of sexual harassment, a state police union official confirmed to The Wausonian. Yet, the Everest Metro Police and Fire Commission has not yet taken any public action on the matter and the chief remains on duty.
Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, confirmed that he and his organization sent a letter to the Everest Metro Police and Fire Commission Sept. 14 asking for Schulz to be placed on administrative leave and for the police and fire commission to act on the complaint.
Palmer told The Wausonian that his organization was made aware of the complaint about Schulz from the Everest Metro Professional Police Association. The complaint came from a non-officer position.
When officers in the union learned about the complaint, “the officers recognized the detrimental impact that this matter could have on their department and the communities they serve,” Palmer says. “As such, they asked the WPPA to request on their behalf that certain routine protective measures be taken to safeguard the investigative process.”
Palmer did not identify who in the department made the complaint, but there are only three positions that are not sworn officer positions in the department. All three of them are women. The Wausonian learned off the record the name of the employee who made the complaint but is not publishing the name until the complaint is made public to avoid further victimizing that person.
So far, Schulz is currently still working as a police chief despite the allegations. According to agendas by the Everest Police and Fire Commission, the commission has not yet taken up the issue in closed or open session. The PFC met on Sept. 20, which would have been nearly a week after the commission received Palmer’s letter asking about the complaint and Schulz being placed on leave.
It is standard practice for an officer facing a complaint to be placed on leave while that complaint is being investigated.
Palmer told The Wausonian he has learned that an independent law firm has been hired to handle the investigation. Palmer’s letter on behalf of the WPPA did not receive a response, he told The Wausonian.
The Wausonian reached out to the Police and Fire Commission President, Dave Eisenreich. Eisenreich responded to the allegations, essentially saying he made the decision alone to hire an outside agency to handle the investigation:
There is an ongoing investigation by an outside, independent agency into the allegation against Chief Schulz. The investigation is a high priority of the Police Commission and we expect that it will be complete soon. Until it is complete, I won’t be commenting on any part of the investigation.
As mentioned above,we do have an independent agency investigating the matter. In the interest of moving quickly to investigate the complaint, I made the decision to hire the independent investigator without discussing it with the other commissioners. There was no meeting to discuss the matter.
The Wausonian also reached out to Chief Schulz to offer a chance to comment on the allegations, and he also did not respond as of Monday evening.
Independently, the Everest Metro Police Department is facing a lawsuit from a former officer. The Wausonian will provide an update when it learns more about the suit. Right now it is not known whether or not the suit is related to the harassment complaint or a completely separate matter.
UPDATE: The Wausonian obtained a copy of the investigation’s conclusions
The Wausonian since publishing this story received a copy of a letter concluding the investigation.
According to the letter from law firm Von Briesen and Roper, sent to Eisenreich, dated in August, suggested that Schulz’ conduct did not reach the level of sexual harassment, though his behavior was highly unprofessional. The incidents go back to 2022 and 2021 but specifics were not given in the letter.
However, the letter continues, their findings raise concerns about Schulz’s performance, particularly the manner in which he addresses subordinates. That includes increased emotional intelligence and awareness of cultural differences.
The letter suggests the following actions Schulz should follow:
The Wausonian has learned the name of the complainant but is not publishing it to protect the whistleblower.
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