Complaint filed against Everest-Metro police chief 'insufficient,' commission decides

Karen Madden, Wausau Daily Herald
·2 min read

WESTON − The Everest-Metro Police Commission decided Wednesday evening that a complaint filed by a department employee did not meet the criteria for a "charge" under the cited statutes.

The commission met and heard testimony Wednesday from the complainant and from Everest-Metro Police Chief Clayton Schulz, Commission President Dave Eisenreich said in an email to a Wausau Daily Herald reporter. The commission then had a discussion of the situation and decided, "the complaint, as filed, did not meet the criteria for a 'charge' under the cited statutes and, therefore, was insufficient to establish 'charges' within the meaning of the law."

The Wausau Daily Herald previously requested a copy of the complaint filed against Schulz but was denied a copy of it because it was a pending investigation. The Daily Herald intends to refile its request now that the case is apparently closed.

Wisconsin Professional Police Association Executive Director Jim Palmer said the complaint was not filed by any of the officers the union represents, so he could not speak to the substance of it. The union had sent a letter to the Everest-Metro Police Commission asking that it treat Schulz like it would any other member of the department.

It would be in the best interest of everyone, including the chief, to handle the investigation into the complaint in the most transparent way possible, Palmer said.

"I can't think of another time when a police commission anywhere in the state has gone further to sidestep transparency," Palmer said.

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Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

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This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Commission: Complaint against Everest-Metro police chief 'insufficient'