How an alert firefighter led to the charging of a Wausau Fire Division Chief over alleged drug theft and misconduct

We found the investigation report

On June 27 of this year, Wausau Fire Chief Jeremy Kopp spoke with investigators with the Department of Criminal Justice.

It was a call surely no chief would ever want to make. He wanted DCI agents to investigate one of his division chiefs.

This week state officials filed charges against Jared J Thompson. Thompson worked as the department’s EMS Division Chief. He is facing three felony charges of misconduct and two charges of theft, according to court records.

Those charges stem from allegations that Thompson was taking drugs meant for patients and using them himself.

That story is starting to make mainstream news. But the more interesting story is how the situation came to the attention of the fire chief in the first place.

It came down to one very alert firefighter, who noticed something not quite right. This is the story of the investigation that led to the charges, and some of the numbers that further alarmed people.