By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A top official in Wisconsin’s largest law enforcement group on Saturday called the apparent lack of action on a complaint alleging widespread sexual harassment by Everest Metro Police Chief Clay Schulz “troubling.”
Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, confirmed that a formal written complaint has been filed with the Joint Police Commission alleging that Schulz has “engaged in a wide range of improper conduct constituting sexual harassment.” The investigation was first reported on Friday by the Wausau Daily Herald.
Palmer on September 14th wrote to members of the commission, urging them to immediately place Schulz on administrative leave. Palmer, on behalf of the WPPA, also requested that Schulz be restricted from entering or accessing department facilities while the matter is pending.
Those are “same protective measures that would apply to any rank-and-file officer charged with the same type of misconduct,” Palmer said. These types of actions protect the integrity of the PFC, the complainants, and the officer that is the subject of the complaint as well, he added.
So far, no action appears to have been taken.
“As far as we know, for reasons that are unknown to us, that has not occurred with regard to the present complaint against Chief Schultz, and that is simply baffling,” Palmer told Wausau Pilot & Review on Saturday. “We are aware that officials have confirmed that an investigation has commenced – which we understand is being undertaken by a law firm – but that is the extent of our knowledge about what steps, if any, are being taken in response to this complaint.”
“That is troubling,” he said.
In response to Palmer’s Sept. 14 email and suggestions, Town of Weston Chair Milton Olson sent an email asking Village of Weston President Mark Maloney if he was “going to get this in motion.”
“I believe that we need to take action asap,” Olson’s reply states.
Separately, Wausau Pilot & Review learned that a high-ranking EMPD officer has filed a lawsuit against the department and is no longer with the agency. Court records show former Capt. John Rusinek filed the action on September 6th in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Everest Metro was served with papers on September 12th, but it is unclear whether the action has any relationship to the allegations made against the chief. Wausau Pilot & Review has requested a copy of the complaint from the court and will follow up with a story next week.
Palmer said the WPPA is not involved in either the complaint against the chief or the Rusinek litigation.
“While we ordinarily represent officers facing PFC complaints, our representation does not extend to chiefs, who frankly, are the ones most often to file disciplinary charges with PFCs against officers,” Palmer said. “This is a very rare case, in that a police department employee has filed a complaint against the chief. Under the state statute that governs these proceedings generally, …any ‘aggrieved person’ may file a complaint with the PFC against an officer, and that includes the chief.”
“As we understand it, the complaint filed against Chief Schultz is not [from] an officer,” Palmer said.
Wausau Pilot & Review reached out to Schulz, Maloney, Olson and other representatives from Weston and Schofield but have not yet received a response.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
