Village completes investigation of Grafton police chief, but complainants not satisfied
A month after a village investigation into accusations against Grafton Police Chief Jeff Caponera determined no additional discipline was needed, the residents and village trustees who filed the complaint are considering filing charges with the village's police and fire commission.
In early August, 15 Grafton residents, including Village Board Trustees Jim Miller and Lisa Harbeck, and former trustee David Antoine, filed a 30-page citizen complaint, accusing Caponera of behaving inappropriately and violating policies on several occasions.
The allegations were based on testimony that came to light during the April 10 and April 17 Police and Fire Commission hearings related to Caponera’s requested termination of former Grafton Police Sgt. Justin Lawrenz for alleged misconduct, for which he was eventually demoted.
The complaint contained calls for Caponera’s termination, but Village Administrator Jesse Thyes, who conducted the investigation, determined that disciplinary action beyond warnings Caponera had already received wasn’t necessary, according to an Aug. 25 letter detailing the investigation to the complainants.
Thyes reported the results of his investigation to the Police and Fire Commission for their final determination on the matter, and the commission upheld his findings, Thyes said.
Dissatisfied with that result, on Sept. 5, one of the residents who filed the complaint, Bill Harbeck (husband of Trustee Lisa Harbeck) wrote a letter to the commission requesting an independent, outside investigation.
“What administrator Thyes did here can hardly be called an investigation,” Bill Harbeck wrote to the commission, arguing that interviewing two people who weren’t under oath at the time wasn’t sufficient.
But the only remaining recourse for the complainants is to file charges with the village’s police and fire commission and request a formal hearing before them, Thyes told the complainants.
The four allegations in the complaint were investigated by the village administrator
Here are each of the four allegations against Caponera outlined in the complaint, followed by Thyes' findings:
Inviting officers and civilian staff into his office to share shots of alcohol, which he admitted to
During the hearings, the chief admitted to drinking alcohol with staff in the office twice. Once before the 2021 Thanksgiving holiday when the chief received a bottle of whiskey as a gift, and another time after 2021’s August Night Out event. Everyone involved was off duty and in the process of leaving the premises, Caponera said during the hearings.
However, Thyes concluded no further action was needed, because he already served a warning to Caponera for the behavior on April 14 around the time of Lawrenz’s hearing, according to Thyes' investigation. The written warning detailed Caponera’s breach of the village’s employee handbook and will remain on his record for five years.
Calling a staff member, while intoxicated, and discussing Caponera's “sex life with his wife,” including that they may be getting divorced.
This allegation stems from testimony provided by Lawrenz and his girlfriend Emily Neuser, former property evidence manager for the Grafton Police Department, during the April hearings.
During his Investigation Aug. 23, Thyes interviewed a staff member whom Neuser said received the inappropriate calls from Caponera. The staff member told Thyes that while she did receive calls from him outside work hours a few times, Caponera never spoke about his sex life, being intoxicated or a potential divorce. Thyes’ interview with Caponera provided responses consistent to those of the staff member.
Bringing up his sex life with Lawrenz during a meeting that the chief set up to talk about contract negotiations and Lawrenz’s relationship with the assistant chief
The third accusation also stems from Lawrenz's and Neuser's hearing testimony. Thyes felt that Lawrenz’s testimony alone wasn’t solid enough evidence, according to the investigation.
“When the testimony is taken in context and as a whole, it fails to present anything upon which any disciplinary action may be based,” he said in the investigation findings.
Making derogatory comments about village trustees to his officers and staff, including referring to Trustee Lisa Harbeck as a “heartless bitch” and Miller as “toothless.”
While Thyes didn’t find evidence of the chief making derogatory comments about village trustees, as the complainants alleged in the fourth accusation, Thyes did learn that comments were made by department personnel and the chief took no action to halt them. He issued a verbal warning to Caponera on April 19 for not discouraging verbal remarks made about elected officials, according to the investigation.
Because Thyes had already issued warnings for the accusations he found evidence for, he said no further action should be taken to discipline the chief.
Procedure for complaints related to police chief differs
When complaints are made to the Police and Fire Commission, the police chief is typically responsible for carrying out the investigation, according to village procedures policy.
But when the citizen complaint is directed at the police chief, another entity must conduct the investigation and “engage in the attempt to resolve informally,” president of the commission and retired police officer Paul Moroder said in an Aug. 18 letter notifying complainants their concerns would be investigated.
Typically, the complaint process also allows for an informal settlement conference. But because the accusations name the police chief, Thyes told the complainants that such a conference wouldn’t be a possible recourse for them. He said their option is to file charges with the village’s police and fire commission and request a formal hearing before the commission.
“It’s odd to me that an informal settlement conference is not available because it would resolve the issue short of a formal hearing, which would be way more complex and expensive,” Bill Harbeck said.
“It throws up a roadblock,” Lisa Harbeck said, “for citizens who are trying to do what they think is right.”
After receiving the settlement conference rejection, Harbeck said Oct. 16 the complainants will discuss their next course of action and possibly move forward on filing charges with the police and fire commission.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Grafton residents react to results of investigation of police chief
