Green Bay Police Dept. Internal Investigation #16-542I |
Why hasn't anyone ever bothered to expose this? Oh, wait... |
Green Bay Police Department September 6, 2017 Internal Investigation #16-542I Patrol Shift Harassment Submitted by: Capt. John M. Balza Lt. Richard G. Belanger Lt David W. Wesely Lt. Benjamin Allen Lt. Keith Gering Professional Standards Division (LOL!) Green Bay Police Department 307 South Adams St. Green Bay, WI 54301
Note: Comments in RED are attempts to piece together redacted information from the original text, and may not be accurate.
"I was assigned to the afternoon shift. Most of the detectives on that shift were people I didn't get along with, but I had wanted to try this job for as long as I can remember. Maybe I was a little burnt out from being on the road and chasing the radio or maybe it was the lure of knowing I always loved to hunt down the bad guy and get to the bottom of things. I got to the bottom of things in that division in a quick hurry. Most of the people I was working with spent a large part of their time trying to look busy and doing as little as possible. That part worked out well; it gave me plenty of work. The more days I spent back there working, the more the slackers resented me. They made it known that I was not welcome in their little unproductive world. Every day I would go in with a black cloud hanging over me, waiting for the bullying to begin."
--- Excerpts from the book Yes Ma'am by Ofc. Susan L. Bickett, a surprisingly candid account of Green Bay Police misconduct, harassment, and corruption - some of which she apparently failed to officially report.
Also note that Det. Capt. Benjamin Allen and Det. Lt. Richard G. Belanger are in BOTH the Detective and Professional Standards Divisions (LOL!).
GBPD Releases Investigation Into Harassment and Bullying by Officers (Mirror)
Green Bay Police Officers Disciplined for Harassing Female Colleague, Using Racial Slurs
Executive Summary
The Internal Complaint Investigation, No. 16-542I, resulted in allegations of misconduct against Green Bay Police Department Employees.
On December 12, 2016, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators were made aware of allegations that a patrol officer was possibly abusing sick-time. During the initial stages of that investigation, a department supervisor said that [REDACTED] approached him, and asked when the supervisors where going to do something with all the harassment against a particular officer assigned to the nightshift.
Based on the information provided to Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators and an initial investigation into the matter, it became apparent that a pattern of harassment of certain officers on the nightshift by fellow officers and a supervisor was occurring.
The harassment was toward a small group of people and was in violation of several policies of the Green Bay Police Department. The investigation determined that a substantial amount of this harassment was being done over the Mobile Data Terminals (MDT) in the squad cars.
This prompted a review of 18 months of MDT messages by each the nightshift officers. This also prompted interviews with 29 members of the Green Bay Police Department, and in some cases, multiple interviews with the same officers. Prior to the completion of this investigation and prior to having the opportunity to interview Lt. Robert J. Korth and Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, both resigned their positions within the Green Bay Police Department.
During the initial stages of the investigation, it was clear that a small group of officers were involved in harassment, bullying or were conducting themselves inappropriately. Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson, Ofc. Kurt D. Brester, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, Ofc. Paul Spoerl, Ofc. Kevin J. Bahl, and Ofc. Scott M. Salzmann became the focus of the investigation.
The investigation determined that at least 25 of Ofc. Knutson's MDT messages contained messages that involved inappropriate content and were in violation of policy, or were in poor taste. During his interviews with Professional Standards Division (LOL!), Ofc. Knutson admitted that the 25 messages were inappropriate and should not have been sent on the department MDT system.
The creation and dissemination of those messages was determined to have contributed to the inappropriate environment on the nightshift. Ofc. Knutson also admitted to printing and posting a picture of another officer in a manner that was harassing in nature. Ofc. Knutson also sent disparaging messages about an officer's medical condition, knowing that this officer had a medical condition.
Ofc. Knutson admitted that his actions are considered harassment, bullying, and intimidation, directly toward other officers, and in some cases, indirectly by talking negatively about them behind their back.
Ofc. Knutson was interviewed on four separate occasions and it was not until after he was placed on Administrative Duty, that Ofc. Knutson was able to fully and completely answer to his role in the harassment and bullying of other officers. Ofc. Knutson's inability or unwillingness to provide accurate and truthful statements during his first or second interview resulted in investigators needing to interview him multiple times when they could have been working on other duties and responsibilities.
The investigation determined that at least 17 of Ofc. Kurt D. Brester's MDT messages contained messages that involved inappropriate content that were in violation of policy or were in poor taste. During his interview with Professional Standards Division (LOL!), Ofc. Brester admitted that the 17 messages were inappropriate and should not have been sent on the department MDT system.
The creation and dissemination of those messages was determined to have contributed to the inappropriate environment on the nightshift. These messages contained words, phrases, or abbreviations that were not in accordance with department policy. The creation and transmission of those inappropriate messages contributed to an inappropriate workplace environment that was hostile to some department employees.
Ofc. Brester was interviewed on three occasions as it relates to this internal investigation. During these three interviews he was evasive in his answers and relied heavily on statements similar to, "Not that I can recall," "I don't remember," and "That's possible, but I can't say for sure." It is understood that a police officer is required to be able to recall events and facts in order to write a report or testify in court. It appears that your statements similar to, "Not that I can recall," along with the other similar generalized statements were self-serving and made in an attempt to not fully answer the questions from Internal Affairs investigators.
During the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) interview with Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, he admitted to making inappropriate statements and using inappropriate language about other officers. A review of Ofc. Eickholt's MDT messages revealed that he was involved in harassment or bullying of certain officers.
Ofc. Eickholt, while on-duty, was involved with 13 inappropriate MDT messages and making other inappropriate comments to other officers. Ofc. Eickholt's messages and inappropriate comments contained words, phrases, or abbreviations that were not in accordance with department policy.
The creation and transmission of those inappropriate messages contributed to an inappropriate workplace environment that was hostile to some department employees. Ofc. Eickholt also admitted to making sexually explicit statements in the Shift Commander's office while in the presence of a police supervisor and a female co-worker. He also said that he made a sexually-related comment about two other officers that were involved in a relationship.
Ofc. Eickholt also disclosed that he may or may not have done the "[REDACTED] Walk" and said "I'm sure I've done it." The internal investigation has also revealed that other officers have confirmed that he has used the "N-word" (n!gger) and the phrase, "Just n!ggers being n!ggers" or, "JNBN."
During the review of Ofc. Kevin J. Bahl's MDT messages, there was a nearly 30-minute conversation about two MDT messages where he attempted to justify and minimize the content of the messages that was sent out. It was clear that he showed some sort of concern with the amount of time-off used, or how other officers used their time-off.
He particularly focused on this with a female officer. When asked about why this was any concern of his or what any of the officers that he sent messages to could do about the off-time usage, he could not give an answer and understood that other officers could do nothing about how officers use their off-time.
He also sent an all-car message, "Everyone can log off 5 min early except Bravo? units." Bravo? units on this particular date included one of the female officers. He expressed that this was out of frustration that this female officer was taking too long on a call and did not respond to another call.
Ofc. Bahl's messages review continued to show that he had concern with one female officer taking off-time and how she responds to calls for service. He also expressed in his messages related to another female officer and what she does or does not do at work. Ofc. Bahl said he takes responsibility for the messages and agreed that they should not have been sent out.
A review of Ofc. Scott M. Salzmann's MDT messages revealed that he was not particularly involved in harassment or bullying of certain officers. However, several inappropriate messages were located that were in violation of policy.
Ofc. Salzmann, while on-duty, sent fourteen inappropriate MDT messages to other officers. Those messages contained words, phrases or abbreviations that were not in accordance with department policy. The investigation determined that at least fourteen of the officer's MDT messages contained messages that involved inappropriate content that were in violation of policy or were in poor taste.
During his interview with Professional Standards Division (LOL!), Ofc. Salzmann admitted that the fourteen messages were inappropriate and should not have been sent on the department MDT system. During his Internal Affairs investigation interview, he said that he has told new officers that they need to work hard to earn it and that they were not part of the team until solo patrol. Ofc. Salzmann said that this was said to motivate new officers and to continue to work hard.
He also went on to talk about the issues with this generation and their ability to take criticism and he tries to combat this by tactfully talking to the new officers. The idea that a new officer is not considered part of the team is of concern and goes against this agency's values.
Ofc. Paul Spoerl was interviewed by Internal Affairs investigators on December 28, 2016 as a witness officer to the nightshift Internal Affairs complaint. During that interview, investigators advised him to be truthful with his answers.
Investigators asked him specific questions pertaining to the investigation and on numerous occasions, he initially responded by denying knowing any information, only to later reveal specific information after further questioning. When asked during the interview why he would not have just been up front with his answers, he replied, "It's tough when they are friends."
A second interview was conducted on January 29, 2017. Investigators reviewed several MDT messages that he had sent. He admitted to investigators of violating policy by sending 15 inappropriate messages that were reviewed with him.
As a result of Ofc. Spoerl's inability to provide truthful answers to investigators, he was found to have violated the truthfulness policy as it relates to internal investigations. This information was provided to the Brown County District Attorney's Office and Ofc. Spoerl was determined to be a "Brady Officer." Ofc. Spoerl could not be used as a witness to testify in certain court proceedings.
Because of this, Ofc. Spoerl's usefulness as a police officer with the Green Bay Police Department was found to be limited and charges were filed with the Police and Fire Commission for his removal from his police officer position within the Green Bay Police Department.
Ofc. Michael P. Rahn was interviewed as part of this internal investigation and had participated in bullying and harassment of fellow officers. Before the conclusion of this investigation and the adjudication of discipline against Ofc. Rahn, he resigned his position with the Green Bay Police Department.
Ofc. Rahn resigned based on a separate internal investigation in which the Brown County District Attorney's Office determined that he was untruthful in the execution of his law enforcement duties and was issued a "Brady/Giglio Letter," which indicated that he could not be used as a witness in court proceedings.
Lt. Robert J. Korth was not interviewed by the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) as he had resigned prior to investigators having the opportunity to do so.
Lt. Korth was placed on paid Administrative Leave on December 14, 2016 for his role in participating in, supporting or failing to act to prevent harassment, unbecoming conduct, discrimination and prohibited speech or conduct while working as a Patrol Lieutenant.
Information that was obtained from interviews of witnesses, victims and other officers that had participated in harassment, unbecoming conduct, and other unprofessional behaviors, it was determined that Lt. Korth would be relieved of his official law enforcement duties.
Lt. Korth was notified that he was relieved of his law enforcement duties on January 3, 2017. On January 31, 2017, Lt. Korth entered into a resignation agreement which ended his employment with the City of Green Bay and also ended the investigation into his involvement in this internal investigation.
Ofc. R. Casey Masiak was not interviewed by the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) as he had resigned prior to investigators having the opportunity to do so.
Ofc. Masiak was placed on paid Administrative Leave on December 15, 2016 for his role in participating in harassment, unbecoming conduct, and other unprofessional behaviors.
Information that was obtain from interviews of witnesses, victims and other officers that had participated in harassment, unbecoming conduct and other unprofessional behaviors, it was determined that Ofc. Masiak would be relieved of his law enforcement duties on January 3, 2017. Ofc. Masiak entered into a resignation agreement which ended his employment with the City of Green Bay on February 8, 2017 and also ended the investigation into his involvement in this internal investigation.
Members of the Green Bay Police Department shall conduct themselves, whether on- or off-duty, in accordance with the Policies and Procedures of the Green Bay Police Department, the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions, and all laws, ordinances and rules enacted or established pursuant to legal authority. It is important that each member of the Green Bay Police Department understand and are familiar with the policies and procedures of the department and are responsible for complying with them.
The investigation proved that these officers did not conduct themselves in accordance with policy based on the MDT messages that they sent, statements they made, or actions they took. These officers should have known that the MDT messages that they sent, the statements they made, and the actions they took do not reflect the conduct of what a Green Bay Police Officer should be displaying.
The actions of these officers is considered to be unbecoming for a Police Officer of the Green Bay Police Department. These actions are contrary to the good order, efficiency, morale and will, and reflect unfavorably upon this department and its members. These actions have the probability of damaging the mission, reputation and professionalism of the Green Bay Police Department and its members in the eyes of the department and the public.
Initial Information
On December 12, 2016, investigators from the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) received information from [REDACTED] in reference to a possible workplace harassment complaint.
At approximately 6 am, investigators arrived at work and walked into the Shift Commander's office and met with [REDACTED] who stated he would come up to the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) office shortly. A few minutes later, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] came into the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) office and closed the door.
[REDACTED] began by explaining that he was currently investigating allegations into Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin? possibly abusing sick-time. He advised he received complaints on shift from officers that she is taking too much time off. He said that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said [REDACTED] and some officers felt this was not appropriate for her to do, given [REDACTED] said [REDACTED] and after roll-call she was in full gear and came into the Shift Commander's office and [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said after he read the letter, he noticed she [REDACTED]. He contacted Cmdr. Paul Ebel and he advised by Cmdr. Ebel to [REDACTED]. Cmdr. Ebel advised him that they would look into [REDACTED] the following Monday. [REDACTED] said that he then received complaints from officers that she was again on-duty, because when [REDACTED] said this prompted him to look into her off-time usage that he was working on with Cmdr. Ebel.
[REDACTED] said on December 10, 2016 into the morning of December 11, 2016, at the end of the shift, he was walking up the stairs from the men's locker room and he saw [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED] asked him if he had seen the picture and showed him a picture text message that he had on his cellphone, which was a picture of Ofc. Dantoin with a caption underneath saying, "I Can't Work." The photo was taped to the back of the chair [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said he told [REDACTED] he hoped he did not have anything to do with the photo and [REDACTED] told him he did not.
[REDACTED] said when he returned to work on December 11, 2016, be began investigating the origin of the photo. He advised that [REDACTED] was in the Shift Commander's office and he asked him if he know about the photo. [REDACTED] told him he did and that he did not have anything to do with it, but he knew who had made the picture. [REDACTED] told [REDACTED] that Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson had made and posted the picture on the chair. He said he was present when Ofc. Knutson was making the photo, as well as Lt. Robert J. Korth, who was sitting at the Shift Commander's desk, as Ofc. Knutson was sitting at the computer next to him making the picture.
[REDACTED] said he had seen the picture at the Packer game on that Sunday. [REDACTED] and there were a group of officers talking. [REDACTED] by Ofc. Knutson, who had it on his cellphone. [REDACTED] said he didn't say anything at the time, but he thought the picture was inappropriate.
[REDACTED] said that on Sunday night, he was approached by [REDACTED] asking him when the supervisors where going to do something with all the harassment against Ofc. Dantoin. [REDACTED] said he got together with [REDACTED] that night and they decided to come forward with this information, which is why they were meeting with the Professional Standards Division (LOL!).
Both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] then voiced their concerns with Lt. Korth's behavior. They both talked about Lt. Korth's attitude and never taking anything seriously. They talked about Lt. Korth sending out multiple inappropriate all-car MDT messages, harassing and picking-on certain officers and supervisors. [REDACTED] said he is tired of the, "Frat house," mentality every time Lt. Korth is the acting Shift Commander. He said there is a small group of officers that hang out in the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Korth is sitting the desk. [REDACTED] as being the group that hangs out in the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Korth is in there.
Both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] said they'd had enough of Lt. Korth's antics on shift and both have told Lt. Korth this, and Lt. Korth responds by telling them they need to, "Relax," and that they are, "Company men," and disregards what they are telling him.
[REDACTED] then stated, "Should I tell them?" He was looking at [REDACTED] when he asked this question. [REDACTED] shrugged his shoulders and [REDACTED] said, "I'm just going to tell them."
[REDACTED] explained that he heard that Lt. Korth was walking behind [REDACTED] who is an African-American officer, walking like an ape and making "ape noises." [REDACTED] then spoke up and said he was in the Shift Commander's office and Lt. Korth was, "Dancing around like a monkey, making monkey noises," and said he often imitates animals and makes animal noises.
They were asked if Lt. Korth's actions were directed at [REDACTED] and the fact that he is Black and they stated, "Yes."
Both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were advised that Professional Standards Division (LOL!) would brief Capt. John M. Balza and Chief Andrew J. Smith with this information and they would be contacted if they needed to come in to write details.
Investigators then briefed Capt. Balza and Chief Smith, and Chief Smith ordered an investigation to be opened into the allegations that were brought forward.
Below is a list of the alleged policy violations for the offending officers. The alleged policies violated differ dependent on a specific officer's involvement in the incident:
Interview with Stephanie R. Dantoin
One the morning of December 13, 2016, investigators interviewed Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin and accompanying [REDACTED] was companion [REDACTED].
Ofc. Dantoin was interviewed reference to some alleged hazing and harassment that she felt was happening on the nightshift. To paraphrase the meeting, she alleged that there is a cultural atmosphere of harassment, mostly directed at her, from other officers and/or supervisors in the form of shaming her or embarrassing her either directly or through MDT messages and emails.
[REDACTED]. She had previously known [REDACTED]. She saw [REDACTED] as a possible friend and somebody that she could align herself with when she came to a new police department. Ofc. Dantoin stated that [REDACTED] and that for the first couple of months she got along great with [REDACTED], but there seemed to be a period of time where her relationship seemed to be influenced by his relationship with [REDACTED]. She described [REDACTED] relationship as best friends at work, as well as away from work. She stated [REDACTED]. She stated that she cannot think of any significant event where something happened that would cause him to dislike her in the way that he does. [REDACTED] that the harassment started sometime in the middle of the summer of 2015.
[REDACTED] him say one day in roll-call, "It's a good night to get into a fight." She also stated [REDACTED].
During the interview, investigators questioned Ofc. Dantoin on specifics as far as dates and times of incidents that she could remember where she felt that she had been harassed or picked-on by Ofc. R. Casey Masiak and/or other members of the nightshift. Ofc. Dantoin stated that it was her belief that the majority of the officers that she felt picked-on her were the ones that were [REDACTED]. She had named Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, Ofc. Kurt D. Brester, Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, Lt. Robert J. Korth, and Ofc. Phuechi M. Xiong. Although she could not give any specific details or times about the other officers, she did come up with a number of specific incidents in reference to Ofc. Masiak.
Incident 1
Ofc. Dantoin indicated that she believes that this happened at the [REDACTED]. She stated that she and Ofc. Brester were assigned to a [REDACTED]. She stated that while she was on-scene [REDACTED]. She stated that Ofc. Masiak showed up on the call without being assigned and walked up to her and told her to, "Get out." Ofc. Dantoin stated that this was just one example of every time that she would go on a call with Ofc. Brester that he would either call her off over the radio, or show up on the call and tell her to leave. [REDACTED]. She believed Lt. Paul Lewis may have also been present, because it was [REDACTED].
Ofc. Dantoin stated that she was so bothered by this incident that she had confided in [REDACTED] about it. She had not talked to anybody else reference this incident.
When asked why she left just because an officer told her to get out, her reply was she left because, "She did not want any confrontation with Ofc. Masiak."
Incident 2
(Believed to be GBPD Incident #[REDACTED])
This incident was believed to have been somewhere [REDACTED]. She stated that Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Brester had pulled over a car, and while searching the car they requested that Ofc. Dantoin come over and conduct a search of the female suspect in the vehicle. Subsequent to the search, [REDACTED] stated [REDACTED] which the female was later arrested and charged with.
She stated that Ofc. Masiak, who was also on the call, had walked up to her and told her not to do details on the finding of the drugs. When we asked her why an officer would ask her not to do details she replied, [REDACTED].
Ofc. Dantoin stated that she was upset by this and at some point immediately after this incident she spoke with [REDACTED] to express her concerns to him about it.
Incident 3
This incident was believed to have occurred sometime [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] stated that she and [REDACTED].
At that time [REDACTED] had gone to the front door of the house and [REDACTED] was approaching the house when Ofc. Masiak arrived and walked up to her and said, "OK, you can go," and used his thumb in a fashion, basically ushering her off the call.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that later she again talked with [REDACTED] about Ofc. Masiak's conduct and she said that [REDACTED] told her that, [REDACTED]. She stated that she had also spoke with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] in reference to these incidents and they were all aware of the history between herself and Ofc. Masiak.
Incident 4
This incident is believed to have occurred [REDACTED]. Ofc. Dantoin pulled over a suspicious vehicle near the [REDACTED]. During her investigation, she smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and believed that there were drugs in the car and called for a K-9 dog to come sniff the car. At some point, she stated that Ofc. Masiak showed up and started to chastise her in front of the suspects and other officers, specifically saying, "Why the hell did you call for a dog?" He then attempted to educate her that she did not need a dog when she smelled marijuana and that was enough for her to conduct her own search. Also present on this call was [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
After this call, the stated that she had enough of the harassment from Ofc. Masiak, and she had sent a MDT message that she wanted to meet up. She believes that they met up at the [REDACTED]. At that time, she told him that his actions were inappropriate and that if he had anything to tell her, that he should talk to her after the call and not in front of suspects and/or fellow officers. Ofc. Dantoin stated that this was the third time that she had reached out to Ofc. Masiak and indicated that his actions and threatening manners were inappropriate and that he should stop.
She again reiterated that [REDACTED]. She stated that [REDACTED]. She also stated that he frequently brags about all the different women that he sleeps with and although he has never asked her out. She also commented that [REDACTED].
Incident 5
The time line of this incident is unknown, but the specifics were regarding a vehicle that was stuck on the railroad tracks in the snow and Ofc. Dantoin was dispatched. She stated that at the time there was a father and a son in the vehicle and she did not make an arrest for Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) because she could not determine if the father or the son had been driving the vehicle. She stated that Ofc. Masiak showed up on the call and he was upset with her, and berated her, for not making an OWI arrest when he thought that she had legal reason to do so.
Incident 6
(Believed to be GBPD Incident #[REDACTED])
Ofc. Dantoin stated on this particular night she was [REDACTED].
At some point during her shift [REDACTED] had called out with a reckless vehicle, which she knew automatically would require a cover officer to be dispatched. She stated that because she and [REDACTED] were literally a block away, they got on the radio and stated that they would cover [REDACTED] with his reckless vehicle. According to [REDACTED], the drive of the reckless vehicle was intoxicated and [REDACTED] got on the radio to ask for another officer to come over and handle the OWI portion of the traffic stop. At that point, [REDACTED] was dispatched for the OWI and [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] stood by the reckless vehicle while a tow truck was called to remove it from the street.
According to [REDACTED], Ofc. Masiak was upset because [REDACTED] had been sent to do the OWI when Ofc. Masiak thought that [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] should have done the OWI paperwork themselves. She later learned that Ofc. Masiak sent out a MDT message to all of the Green Bay Police Officers working, shortly after this. The message read something similar to, "Funny how they will take calls where there is no paperwork." [REDACTED] believes that [REDACTED] had seen the message and might possibly have counseled Ofc. Masiak on the tone of the message. She remembers that she and [REDACTED]. She stated that things did not change and in her words, "The harassment continued." She stated that [REDACTED] is a friend and confidante of hers and she had told him about this incident, and she thought that he had addressed it with Ofc. Masiak at some point.
At the end of her shift when she had come out of the locker room and was heading to the roll-call room, at [REDACTED], she observed Ofc. Masiak sitting at one of the tables speaking with Union Representative Ofc. Michael P. Rahn. When she walked into the room, they did not immediately see her and she overheard Ofc. Rahn tell Ofc. Masiak, "Don't worry, we'll take care of you." She stated this was said in front of several other officers who she believed to be [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
Again, she believe that this was a form of harassment and she was very upset about it. Instead of being confrontational, she just took a seat and waited until the end of her shift before she could leave work. She stated that later at some point, she spoke with [REDACTED] about this incident.
Incident 7
(Believed to be GBPD Incident #[REDACTED])
This incident was believed to have happened somewhere around [REDACTED] in the area of [REDACTED]. It would have involved a possible disturbance involving a domestic violence-type of call. She stated that Ofc. Masiak and herself were both dispatched to the call. While they were investigating the call, she wanted to confer with Ofc. Masiak on what his opinion was, if there was a violation of the law for domestic violence, or if it did not meet the statutory requirement of an arrest.
She stated at that time Ofc. Masiak had made a comment to her, "You should know what to do." She said that when he said this it was in a condescending way, and the result was that no arrest was made on this call. She said again she was upset, because she thought that she was working as a team and when she had sought the advice from a fellow officer, and she felt like she was shunned.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that in the last ten months, on approximately three different occasions, she has been on calls with Ofc. Masiak and she has heard suspects, victims or witnesses say, "Why are you talking to me in this way," referring to Ofc. Masiak. She stated that Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED]. She stated that officers have commented to her about Ofc. Masiak's conduct when speaking with people in the community. She stated that in reference to this particular incident, she spoke with [REDACTED] and with [REDACTED].
Incident 8
When she started working at the Green Bay Police Department, Ofc. Dantoin stated that she was friends with [REDACTED]. She stated that she looked up to him and frequently would go to him with questions. She said at one point, [REDACTED] had commented to her that the guys on nightshift have problems with her because, "You take off too much," referring to off-time usage.
[REDACTED] stated that when officers take off of the nightshift, that means there are fewer officers working, so those officers who are working are forced to take more calls than they normally would. She stated that when [REDACTED] takes off, they also complain about her being gone as well.
Incident 9
This incident is believed to have happened in [REDACTED] when the weather was cold out in the area of [REDACTED]. Ofc. Dantoin said she believed that is was probably a male/female disturbance and that [REDACTED] and she were dispatched. They had both pulled-up to the address together. She stated that [REDACTED] was knocking on the door and she was standing at the bottom of the stairwell waiting for the people inside to answer. At some point, there as a commotion or disturbance inside of the closed door, which prompted [REDACTED] to start kicking open the door. She stated that from out-of-nowhere, Ofc. Masiak arrived and he ran up the stairs and pushed her out of the way so he could help [REDACTED] kick open the door. She used this incident as another example to show Ofc. Masiak's [REDACTED]. After this incident, she stated that she did not have a conversation with either of them and she just left, again not wanting to have a confrontation with them.
Incident 10
This was believed to have happened in [REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED] plus she is a female, [REDACTED].
She stated on this particular night, she was coming from [REDACTED] because it was busy. She was going to drive down to the bar district of Washington Street, which is always busy. She stated her rationale for this was to show a presence on a busy bar populated road and to have a squad car drive by.
As she was driving by, she noticed that Lt. Robert J. Korth, Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, Ofc. Kurt D. Brester, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt and Ofc. Pheuchi M. Xiong were all standing outside on the street next to a squad car, apparently ending or responding to a call. She said at that time, they were holding onto a female who was in handcuffs and was not struggling. She said as she drove down Washington Street on the way to headquarters, they all stopped, turned and watched her drive by.
Later during her shift she had a conversation with [REDACTED] who said that Lt. Korth had made comments to him and the other officers that Ofc. Dantoin had no reason to be driving down on Washington Street and that basically they were all, "Talking shit," about her in front of her peers.
Incident 11
This incident was believed to have occurred sometime [REDACTED]. She stated that Lt. Robert J. Korth had sent her a series of MDT messages asking why she had left her squad running in the Green Bay Police Department parking lot and that the squad car had run out of gas. She stated that it was not her car and she had tried to message Lt. Korth back telling him that. She stated that Lt. Korth just kept sending her a series of MDT messages basically being confrontational with her and accusing her of letting her car run out of gas.
To this day, she does not know whose squad car it was that ran out of gas, but she knows that it was not her car. She stated that she had spoken to [REDACTED] about this incident and had impressed upon him that she had no reason to lie, specifically over MDT messages. She stated that she did not speak with Lt. Korth any further about this, because again, she did not want any more confrontation or to be picked-on.
Incident 12
Ofc. Dantoin stated that she believed this incident would have been [REDACTED]. She had driven up on an open garage door [REDACTED]. She stated that the normal protocol, because it could possibly be a burglary in progress, would be to call out over the radio and wait for backup to arrive before she initiated contact with the building. She stated that she knew that if she called out with this over the radio, which was at [REDACTED], she would be disturbing the other guys at the time they eat, or the time they hang out in the Shift Commander's office.
Knowing she was violating policy, she shined light around in the garage and she thought it was obvious that the owners [REDACTED] had simply forgotten to close the garage door. She believes that she sent and MDT message to dispatch asking for a phone number for the key holder. She stated that she had a call made up through dispatch and she was able to get a hold of the key holder and they came down and secured the door.
She stated that she would later be evaluated by [REDACTED] and that she received 2's, which is a below average rating. She stated that she has never had 2's before in her reviews, which have always included 3's or 4's (Average and Above-Average). She admitted that her response to this type of call was inappropriate and she did violate policy, but it was another reason not to have a target on her and be harassed by her peers.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that [REDACTED] usually sit in the Shift Commander's office with Lt. Korth between 3:30-5:30 am, almost every morning when they are not on calls for service. She stated [REDACTED]. She stated that they will frequently use each others computers to send out fake MDT messages to request an officer to come in to see the Shift Commander or to request some other duty as a joke.
Incident 13
Ofc. Dantoin stated that this incident occurred [REDACTED]. She stated that she was [REDACTED] while working the nightshift. She stated that because it was quiet, there was really nothing to do and it was [REDACTED]. She stated that [REDACTED] and Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt were sitting in the Shift Commander's office.
She stated that both of the lieutenants were laughing at some joke that had been said. She stated that initially she had heard [REDACTED] telling a story reference good looking girls and that was the reason that she believed that [REDACTED] and Ofc. Eickholt had been initially laughing. She stated she heard part of it, and was sitting in close proximity and they were laughing, so she was laughing to go along with them. She did not necessarily feel offended by what they had said because this sort of thing, "Goes on all the time."
She said at some point Ofc. Eickholt responded back with some story and then the laughing immediately tapered off. She did not hear what Ofc. Eickholt had said, but only heard [REDACTED] say something to the effect of, "That was inappropriate." She stated that the next day [REDACTED] was the Shift Commander and again [REDACTED] called in Ofc. Eickholt and had a closed door meeting with him. She believes [REDACTED].
She stated that she felt that [REDACTED]. She stated after Ofc. Eickholt had come out of the meeting with [REDACTED], Ofc. Eickholt walked by her workstation 3-4 times and paid no attention to her, where he would normally stop and say, "Hi." It was [REDACTED].
Incident 14
(Believed to be GBPD Incident #[REDACTED])
This incident is believed to have been a domestic violence incident that occurred approximately [REDACTED] stated, at that time, she was dispatched to the call with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and a female had been arrested.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that she had put handcuffs on the female and stayed behind in the house to finish up on the call. She stated that [REDACTED] took her prisoner with the handcuffs on and she assumed he was going to be transporting the prisoner to the Brown County Jail. She stated at some point she sent a message to [REDACTED] asking where her handcuffs were and he responded that Ofc. Masiak had actually transported the female and had her handcuffs. She stated that she contacted Ofc. Masiak and he either stated that he did not have the handcuffs, or refused to give them back. [REDACTED].
Incident 15
This incident happened approximately [REDACTED] where Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson had taken a photograph of Ofc. Dantoin and blew it up into an 8" x 11" size piece of paper and taped it to the back of her chair. He also took another 8" x 11" piece of paper and had printed out in large font something to the effect of, "I Can't Work." Ofc. Knutson then took a photograph with his cellphone of the picture on the chair and texted it out to numerous friends, who are also Green Bay Police Officers. This occurred when Ofc. Dantoin was not at her chair and must have been away from her work station.
When investigators informed Ofc. Dantoin of this, she stated that she had no knowledge of this and quoted, "I'm really pissed off about this." She expressed that this was another example of her being made fun of and harassed on her shift, [REDACTED]. She stated that to her knowledge, the posting of the picture must have happened on [REDACTED]. At that time, she believed that [REDACTED] was the Shift Commander and she knows that Ofc. Masiak was in the office both of those nights, because she had seen him there. (From GBPD work rosters, it is believed that this actually occurred on [REDACTED]).
Incident 16
Ofc. Dantoin stated that [REDACTED] is a co-worker and one of her confidantes at work. She stated that [REDACTED] and she believes that both of them have the same issues with Ofc. Masiak. She stated that Ofc. Masiak does not like [REDACTED] and at times, officers on the nightshift refer to [REDACTED] as a, "Know it all," "Suck up," and "Company man."
Ofc. Dantoin stated that the officers on nightshift make fun of him about how he talks on the radio, because he has a specific dialect and at times is hard to understand. Ofc. Dantoin believes that this is because [REDACTED] holds his microphone too close when he speaks. Ofc. Dantoin used this as yet another example on the how nightshift officers had an attitude of picking-on and harassing other officers.
Through her conversations with [REDACTED] she stated that he has said things to her such as, "You wouldn't believe what these guys say about you girls in the locker room." Ofc. Dantoin stated that she is very offended by this and when she asked him what things were being said in the locker room, he refused to tell her because they were, "Too bad."
Incident 17
Ofc. Dantoin was not sure of the time line or the location, but said she was dispatched to a call and asked to [REDACTED].
While she was providing security for the three suspects, she said [REDACTED] arrived on scene and asked her, "How's it been going?" She believed that he was referring to the harassment that she had been receiving from the nightshift officers. She responded back to [REDACTED] something to the effect of, "Nothing ever happens when I report it." Ofc. Dantoin said that [REDACTED] then took offense to what she had just said, and snapped back at her saying that he has been doing something about it.
Ofc. Dantoin further described the atmosphere of what it's like to work the nightshift. She stated that most officers when they start their shift go outside and wait on "the wall." This is referring to the brick wall of the police department building along the East parking lot, which is where officers will wait for squad cars to come in from the previous shift. She stated that almost all officers have their favorite cars, and the selection of these cars is by seniority. Most officers honor this unwritten rule of squad selection by seniority. She stated that occasionally supervisors will come outside tell them to get into cars, because of urgent pending calls for service. Any officer who takes a car that belongs to a senior officer who has not yet arrived out to the wall, will later be chastised by them.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that she does not know what else to do about the previously stated 18 incidents. She has tried to avoid contact with most of the officers on nightshift, specifically the Bravo or Charlie District? group. She does not call out on traffic stops any more, and recently did not call out on the open door (Incident 13), which potentially could have been a burglary in progress and could have compromised her safety.
She said she has gone to numerous supervisors about her perception of being harassed on the nightshift. She has talked to her friends, family, and other police officers, and said this is her dream job (police officer) and she just does not know where to turn. She said that as a last resort, she had requested to post out of Bravo? District and to go to a different district. It is her understanding that [REDACTED] had spoken with Cmdr. Paul Ebel about some of these issues she is having with Ofc. Masiak, but she is unsure what the outcome of that conversation was.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that officers on her shift make fun of her when she takes off of work. She is so stressed out because of the harassment, that she feels like she has to takes off of work every opportunity that she can. She does this so she doesn't have to come to work and face more possible harassment from her peers, specifically Ofc. Masiak.
Ofc. Dantoin stated that when [REDACTED] she spoke with Capt. Todd C. LePine about that incident and trouble she was having with Ofc. Masiak. She stated at one point she approached Capt. LePine in the parking lot and told him that she wanted to get out of Bravo? District and go to a different district.
She stated [REDACTED].
When asked what Ofc. Dantoin would like done out of this investigation, she said she wanted two things to happen; number one is for Ofc. Masiak to grow up and be more mature and number two, she does not want to have to work with him again in the future.
Ofc. Dantoin stated [REDACTED] because when he logs on as the Shift Commander he always logs on as "Make NRC great again." It is believed that NRC stands for "Night Rider Crew," which signifies the closeness and camaraderie that the nightshift officers have with each other.
Interview with Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson - Part 1
Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson was hired with the Green Bay Police Department on February 8, 2010. The Green Bay Police Department sponsored Ofc. Knutson in the Law Enforcement Recruit Academy at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Ofc. Knutson finished the Recruit Academy in May of 2010 and then started the Field Training Program at the Green Bay Police Department. He completed the Field Training Program on time and with no deficiencies noted. Ofc. Knutson completed 484 hours of training while employed with the Green Bay Police Department, including the three in-service trainings each year of his employment. Ofc. Knutson is also a certified Field Training Officer (FTO).
Prior to his employment with the Green Bay Police Department, Ofc. Knutson attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison and completed 12 college credits. Ofc. Knutson then enlisted in the United States Air Force and served from February of 2002 to February 2006. While in the Air Force, he completed 12 college credits through Central Texas College. Ofc. Knutson finished his Bachelor's Degree in Criminology from The University of Southern Florida.
Ofc. Knutson became the center of Internal Investigation #16-542I when it was discovered that he had printed a derogatory employee picture of Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin and posted the picture at her workstation when she [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson attached a caption on the picture which stated, "I Can't Work." This was an obvious concern as it was in direct conflict with several policies, including General Standards of Conduct; Discrimination and Favoritism; Discrimination based on Protected Classes; Use of Social Media; and Prohibited Content.
During the course of this investigation, Ofc. Knutson was interviewed on four different occasions. The primary reasons for multiple interviews with Ofc. Knutson was because of a concern that he was not providing investigators with complete and truthful information related to the investigation. Ofc. Knutson was relieved of his patrol duties and was placed on Administrative Duty on January 11, 2017. Ofc. Knutson was re-instated to his patrol duties on January 24, 2017 after his third interview where he provided, what appeared to be, more complete answers to the investigators questions. Ofc. Knutson is believed to have been assigned to the night shift on September 28, 2010. He then transferred to the day shift almost five years later on November 1, 2015.
The first interview with Ofc. Knutson was on December 13, 2016. Present at the interview was [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was issued the Formal Complaint Against Personnel which listed the policy violations that he was alleged to have violated. Include in these policy violations were the following policies:
- 320.4 - Standards of Conduct
- 320.5.3 - Discrimination
- 320.5.9 - Standards of Conduct/Conduct
- 314.3.1- Discrimination Prohibited/Discrimination
- 342.2 - Department Use of Social Media
- 342.5 - Social Media/Prohibited Content
Ofc. Knutson requested that the policies be read to him, which was done, and he said that he understood each of the policies and was able to explain each of the policies in his own words. It was clear to investigators that he had a strong understanding of these policies based on his explanation of what each policy means, and he knew that he should go to a supervisor if he had any questions related to any policy question.
Ofc. Knutson was asked specifically if he had talked to anyone about this investigation and he said that he had talked to the people who he sent the picture to. When asked about his, he said that he had used his cellphone camera to take a photo of the picture he had posted of Ofc. Dantoin and he had sent the picture to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He said that he was, "Not exactly sure on everybody," he sent the picture to.
He was asked how well he knows [REDACTED] and he said, "Not very." He was asked to elaborate on this and [REDACTED] and he described this interaction as, "It went fine." He was asked if he understood that posting the picture of Ofc. Dantoin and being critical of her work status can be construed as harassment, to which he replied, "Yes." Ofc. Knutson was asked if he posted the picture of Ofc. Dantoin with the caption, "I Can't Work," and he replied, "Yes, it said I can't work." He was asked if he was with another employee when he printed and posted the picture of Ofc. Dantoin. When asked who printed and posted the picture, Ofc. Knutson again confirmed that he printed the employee photo of Ofc. Dantoin and posted the picture on her [REDACTED] workstation. He also confirmed that he took a photo of the picture with his cellphone and sent the picture attached to a text message to five other Green Bay Police Department employees. He said that he earlier deleted the text message, so he was not exactly sure on who he sent the picture to.
Ofc. Knutson was asked what his relationship was like with Ofc. Dantoin and he replied that does not have a relationship with her. He was asked why he would print and post this picture and he said that he heard a rumor that Ofc. Dantoin completed a tactical instructor course [REDACTED]. Upon returning to work, she dressed in full uniform, brought her (duty) bag to her car and then said, "I can't work." Ofc. Knutson said that according to the Shift Commander, she was unable to perform her duties. He was asked if he was sure if this incident actually happened. Ofc. Knutson responded by saying that he was not sure of anything, and he reiterated that Ofc. Dantoin got in full uniform and went out to her car and said, "[REDACTED], I forgot I can't work." Ofc. Knutson was told that this was not what occurred and was given the facts that [REDACTED] she attended a course that was related to core strength for law enforcement and was not a tactical instructor course. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson acknowledged this and said that he understood. He also said that he heard that [REDACTED] was bumped from a vacation pick, which did or did not play into this situation. Ofc. Knutson was making the assumption that she went [REDACTED] because she was upset about getting bumped from her vacation selection during the holidays. By her being on [REDACTED], she would now be able to take off.
Ofc. Knutson was asked if he felt his actions of printing and posting the picture of Ofc. Dantoin was appropriate, or if it was a violation of policy. He said it was a violation. He was asked if he was aware of anyone else who had posted a picture of an employee that had been critical of that employees work status. [REDACTED]. He was again asked if he knew of anyone that posted a photo of another employee that was critical of someone's [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked if he knew of anyone else who should be interviewed in reference to this issue. [REDACTED] (Ofc. Knutson) admitted to doing it. [REDACTED]. He was asked if Lt. Robert J. Korth told him to make the photo about [REDACTED]. He was asked about when [REDACTED] walked into the Shift Commander's office, [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked what prompted him to post this picture of [REDACTED]. He said that he saw that [REDACTED] and heard that she had been reassigned to somewhere else. He went on to say that, "I call people out on things that I see, and I thought, she's not at work on nightshift, if she's supposed to be here [REDACTED] she's not here so I just posted it, it was a bad taste." [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked if there was anything else that he wanted to talk about related to this investigation and he said, "It wasn't of malicious intent, that's all I got." Ofc. Knutson was given the order not to discuss the investigation with anyone other than his wife, the association representation, or others that are covered by the privilege exception. He stated that he understood and the interview was ended.
While proceeding with this investigation and reviewing the first interview with Ofc. Knutson, it was found that there were some inconsistencies and possible omissions with Ofc. Knutson's responses to the questions. Ofc. Knutson was ordered to meet with investigators again on December 14, 2016. Ofc. Knutson was told that they were looking to clarify some of the issues that were discussed with him back on December 13 during his first interview.
Ofc. Knutson was reminded that he told investigators that he heard a rumor about [REDACTED] and why [REDACTED]. He was asked if he remembered where that rumor came from [REDACTED]. He was asked if he heard this rumor on the night that he posted the picture of Ofc. Dantoin. It was suggested to him that this was a pretty specific rumor, and Ofc. Knutson [REDACTED]. He was asked if it came from nightshift officers [REDACTED]. He was asked who (from nightshift), supervisors, patrol officers, [REDACTED]. He was asked if the rumor was locker room or roll-call chatter. [REDACTED]. Investigators then confirmed with Ofc. Knutson that, "You don't remember who at all?" [REDACTED]. He was asked if he and Lt. Korth had a conversation about it [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked again if there was any conversation between him and Lt. Korth about putting up the picture [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked why he was working nightshift on the night he made and posted the photo of [REDACTED] when he is normally assigned to the dayshift. Ofc. Knutson said that he was working overtime on Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) patrol and he had stopped in at the Shift Commander's desk to turn in some paperwork. He was again asked what triggered him to print and post the picture of Ofc. Dantoin. He said, "Umm, seeing the empty chair probably." He was again asked to clarify who he had sent the photo to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He was asked if he had any conversations prior to this with these officers as it related to [REDACTED]. He was asked why he sent the text to these specific officers [REDACTED].
Investigators again attempted to have Ofc. Knutson remember and explain who he heard the rumor from about [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked if [REDACTED] knew about the picture [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was again asked about his conversation with Lt. Korth, as it related to [REDACTED] on the night the picture was made and posted on her chair. He was asked who initiated the conversation about why Ofc. Dantoin's chair was vacant, and who that conversation was within the Shift Commanders office. [REDACTED]. He was asked what sparked the conversation [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked if there was any other conversation with Lt. Korth about [REDACTED] at this time [REDACTED]. He was asked if he didn't remember, of if he didn't know, if Lt. Korth said anything else about [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked what happened after this conversation with Lt. Korth and he said that he logged into the other computer at the Shift Commanders desk and made a picture with a caption that said, "I Can't Work." He then posted the picture on Ofc. Dantoin's empty chair and took a photo of it. He said he then took down the picture and put it in the shredder. Ofc. Knutson was asked if Lt. Korth had a reaction to his [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]. He was told that part of this investigation was to determine who was saying what, and what they were saying to him, and how did he develop the information that caused him to feel the need to post the picture of [REDACTED]. He was asked what [REDACTED] said [REDACTED]. He was asked when this conversation with [REDACTED] took place and [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked what opened this conversation between him and [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked who [REDACTED] was talking with [REDACTED]. He was asked if he could guess who it was based on the person's voice [REDACTED].
([REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were both interviewed at a later date and said that they never had a conversation about [REDACTED] and did not remember having a conversation in the locker room when Ofc. Knutson was around.)
Ofc. Knutson was asked if there were any incidents, conversations, or concerns with [REDACTED] performance, or anything similar to this related to this incident or another time and [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked if he addressed any of his concerns with supervisors or the Training Division [REDACTED]. He said that he was not trying to cover anything up or be deceptive. [REDACTED]. The second interview with Ofc. Knutson was concluded at this point.
The investigation into the conduct of several officers continued into January of 2017. During interviews with other officers and supervisors, more information related to Ofc. Knutson's involvement and knowledge of posting the picture of [REDACTED] and misconduct related to his involvement with bullying and harassment. Based on interviews with officers and supervisors that he named in his second interview, it was clear that Ofc. Knutson was omitting information and was answering questions with self-servicing responses in an attempt to limit his responsibility for his actions.
Ofc. Knutson was placed on Administrative Duty on January 11, 2017 and was assigned to a position where he would not have contact with other officers or the public.
On January 19, 2017, Ofc. Knutson was interviewed for a third time. Ofc. Knutson was reminded that all the previous instructions and policy violations were still in place for this interview. Ofc. Knutson said that he wanted to get on the record and say that he was not prepared for the previous interviews at all, and did not know if it was, "Nerves or whatever," but he did not feel that he had time to review the incident. He said, "Frankly, when I was asked those questions, I didn't remember at the time." Ofc. Knutson went on to say that he had a number of sleep cycles since then, along with a number of hours and a chance to sit and replay in his mind of exactly how it went down.
Ofc. Knutson made mention that he did not feel that he was done answering a question, and another question was presented to him and he was not sure if he was rushed. Ofc. Knutson was reminded that he has been through interviews in the past and he should understand that if he has more to say, he can say it, and he agreed with this. Ofc. Knutson was told that part of the frustration with his lack of providing complete information when investigators knew there was more information that he should have provided. He said that he agreed with this and wanted to get everything out on the table.
Ofc. Knutson was reminded that he told investigators that he has no connection to [REDACTED] and has no relationship with her. He was told that in the course of the investigation, we had interviewed 20 or more officers and had reviewed MDT messages from those involved in this investigation. It was clear that Ofc. Knutson's MDT messages showed a pattern of behavior that was in violation of policy and appeared to be focused on [REDACTED].
Investigators reviewed the following MDT messages that Ofc. Knutson sent, received, or responded to:
Message Sent To/From Date Subject Victim Policy was Violated
MK1 B. Stanton 06/11/2015 ...what a waste of my time and makes me [REDACTED] Yes look like an a$$
MK2 R. Korth 06/13/2015 WOW Award for [REDACTED]. District Charlie Bongle's Ego Yes does more work than all afternoon shift Bravo Officers
MK3 C. Masiak 06/13/2015 Not so awesome now, broken down huh [REDACTED] Yes
MK4 Dispatch 06/13/2015 Call him [REDACTED] next time [REDACTED] Yes
MK5 All-Car 07/07/2015 (Message was reference to statistics broken Bravo Yes down by district.) District Nightshift Officers
MK6 All-Car 06/14/2015 SOMEBODY CHECK ON [REDACTED], I think [REDACTED] Yes Crisis might've abducted her.
MK7 R. Korth 07/13/2015 Apparently the slugs don't respect because Selected Yes im honest and call them out so from this Nightshift point forward, my all cars will only be a Officers select few people, rgr? ah just start giving them 2's and 1's...
MK8 S. Dantoin 08/23/2015 I'm sorry you think that I handled this [REDACTED] No call so poorly, I was just doing what my sr officer told me to do
MK9 C. Masiak 08/23/2015 How did I get stuck at KT? WTF? [REDACTED] Yes M. Rahn
MK10 C. Masiak 08/23/2015 Better not have been more than 2 at the PD. [REDACTED] Yes Ofc. Dantoin? probably wants to take me to jail then since I hurt her feelings :(
MK11 R. Korth 08/29/2015 Add yourself to reetzs call, this kid [REDACTED] Yes needs transport to Manitowoc county line. I don't want to, I don't like you. Why doesn't he [REDACTED] drive the kid
MK12 R. Korth 08/30/2015 Or I will tell her I got a complaint, up [REDACTED] Yes to you. Tell your girl she can slow down too...no need to drive 60 on main to cut me off and get to your stop
MK13 C. Masiak 09/17/2015 Oh, [REDACTED] left......weird [REDACTED] Yes
MK14 K. Brester 09/25/2015 [REDACTED] status "out at headquarters", just reached 1000 min for the month of sept. [REDACTED] Yes
MK15 R. Korth 10/07/2015 County complain on me? County Sgt. No
MK16 C. Masiak 10/09/2015 what are you doing? Driving around. You have been on admin for 2 hours. LOL I forgot to clear myself. oh just like your sister, 80 min [REDACTED]
MK17 C. Masiak 10/09/2015 I really don't want to do too much with [REDACTED] Yes the people in [REDACTED] tonight. IDK why would you ever say that.
MK18 All-Car 12/16/2015 Disregard all his messages he had too much Lt. Korth & Yes Kool-aid today [REDACTED]
MK19 A. Knutson 03/16/2016 Biemeret apparently has an 'N' added to it [REDACTED] Yes and is pronounced "beer-mint" seriously people, and its someone that's not new. who? [REDACTED]
MK20 All-Car 03/24/2016 Lets play a game try to figure out where [REDACTED] No [REDACTED] is
MK21 J. Engelbrecht 05/23/2016 That's because I've been reading lexipol [REDACTED] Yes all morning...knowledge is power :)
MK22 All-Car 06/26/2016 Trivia question. How many Goof Troop squads [REDACTED] Yes still in the lot?
MK23 All-Car 06/26/2016 Anyone have a flashlight I can borrow? Lt. Korth No
MK24 C. Masiak 07/08/2016 You better hang out in B tonight. Bongle's Ego Yes why is that. Guess LOL. I already know.
MK25 C. Masiak 07/08/2016 So she's in the river. [REDACTED] Yes Don't think she's quite had the mic shoved down her throat enough with all that background breathing I hear either.
MK26 K. Bahl 11/13/2016 I will never come take an OWI for [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Yes C. Masiak again....ever P. Spoerl T. Eickholt P. Xiong
MK27 All-Car 11/13/2016 Can't find mainmuseum on my map [REDACTED] Yes
MK28 All-Car 11/27/2016 Ofc. Xiong ran over my duty bag tonight. Ofc. Xiong Yes Yes, completely over the top. Think there's some truth to that driving thing
MK29 All-Car 12/11/2016 HOW COME [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] NEVER [REDACTED] Yes FIGHT OVER TAKING CALL?The review of MDT messages showed that there were several concerning messages. Of the 29 messages listed above (MK1-MK29), Ofc. Knutson admitted that there was a policy violation for 25 of the messages.
When asked about message "MK1," Ofc. Knutson agreed that this message would not look good to the public as he had essentially spelled out the word "ass" using two "$" in place of the two "s."
"MK2" was sent by Ofc. Knutson and was in reference to Capt. Jeremy Muraski's & Crooked Bill Bongle's corrupt, lying, filthy, poop-faced West side officers. Ofc. Knutson agreed that this was not professional, and it was offensive and inappropriate.
"MK3" was also sent by Ofc. Knutson to Ofc. Masiak and it was in reference to [REDACTED]. He again agreed that this was not appropriate and was a policy violation.
"MK4" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Dispatch, asking Dispatch to call [REDACTED] in reference to [REDACTED]. "T" units are the traffic officer's radio callsigns. Ofc. Knutson was asked if it was a policy or contract violation for [REDACTED] to make traffic stops and he answered, "No." He was asked if it was a policy violation as it relates to sending a MDT message about a supervisor, and he agreed that it was a policy violation.
"MK5" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Ofc. Nicholas J. Walvort and Ofc. Thomas Conley. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson looked at all of the statistical numbers and put a spreadsheet together while working, so he would be able to show the Bravo District officers that Charlie District officers were more active. Ofc. Knutson was asked if it was his responsibility to send this message out to justify his job and he said that it was not his responsibility to do this.
"MK6" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson in reference to [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson sent the message, "somebody check on [REDACTED]." Also in the message that Ofc. Knutson sent in reference to [REDACTED] was, "one of my finer moments." He sent this after a response from Ofc. Nathan Robbins who said that this was a funny message.
It was pointed out to Ofc. Knutson that he had originally told investigators that he did not know [REDACTED] very well and he did not have any sort of relationship with her. He was told that this was the first of many MDT messages that showed that he had some connection or specific knowledge about [REDACTED].
During the initial interview with Ofc. Knutson, he said that he posted the picture of Ofc. Dantoin in an effort to, "Call her out." He said that when he sees something that is not right, he will call people out on it. He was reminded that what he did was not "calling her out," because this was done behind her back and she initially had no idea that he had posted the picture of her. When asked if message "MK6" was a violation of policy, Ofc. Knutson agreed that it was.
"MK7" is a message that Ofc. Knutson received from Lt. Korth. The message was in reference to Lt. Korth, "...slugs don't respect [me] because I'm honest... my all-cars will only be [sent] to a select few." Ofc. Knutson responded to this message, "ah just start giving them 2's and 1's..." Ofc. Knutson was asked if this was an appropriate message for Lt. Korth to send out and he said, "I do not." He was asked what he should have done with this message and he said that he should have told Lt. Korth that it was not appropriate or bring it to a Captain.
"MK8" is a message that Ofc. Knutson received from Ofc. Dantoin. This message was Ofc. Dantoin trying to explain what she did on a call, and why. Ofc. Knutson attempted to give Ofc. Dantoin some advice on officer safety concerns. It appears that Ofc. Dantoin took this advice well; however, Ofc. Knutson sends Ofc. Masiak a message and tells him about how Ofc. Dantoin screwed up. Ofc. Knutson did not believe this was in violation of policy.
"MK9" is a message between Ofc. Knutson and Ofc. Brester. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson responds to Ofc. Brester with, "WTF?" Ofc. Knutson was asked what this means and he said, "What the f*ck." He was asked if this was appropriate and a violation of policy and he said that it was not appropriate and was a violation of policy.
"MK10" is a message that Ofc. Knutson sent to Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED]. Ofc. Masiak responded back that he heard the new Chief doesn't like when more than two officers are out on a meal break. This message went on with Ofc. Masiak saying he wanted to take someone to jail because that person hurt his feelings. Ofc. Knutson responds back, "Ofc. Dantoin? probably wants to take me to jail then since I hurt her feelings :(." This message continued on about how Ofc. Dantoin? handled a call poorly. This is related to the message Ofc. Knutson received from Ofc. Dantoin? in message "MK8." Ofc. Knutson was asked what Ofc. Masiak was going to do about his perceived issues with Ofc. Dantoin? tactics and he said, "Nothing." Ofc. Knutson was asked if it would have been just as easy to send a message to her supervisor or a Field Training Officer about his tactical concerns on Ofc. Dantoin? and he responded, "Yes." He was asked if he was "bagging" (criticizing) on Ofc. Dantoin? and if this was a policy violation, and he agreed that he was "bagging" on her and it was a policy violation. Ofc. Knutson said that he sent this message to Ofc. Masiak, [REDACTED].
"MK11" was a message initiated by Lt. Korth to Ofc. Knutson. This message started with Lt. Korth telling Ofc. Knutson to add himself to a call. Ofc. Knutson responded to Lt. Korth with, "I don't want to, I don't like you." This message went on with Lt. Korth saying that [REDACTED] made the decision to have a juvenile transported to the county line to be turned over to Manitowoc County. Ofc. Knutson replied to this with, "Why doesn't he [REDACTED] drive the kid." Ofc. Knutson agreed that this message would not look good to the public, where he is telling a supervisor that he doesn't want to do that he has been directed to, and he also tells the supervisor that he doesn't like him. He agreed that this was a policy violation as well.
"MK12" was a message sent by Lt. Korth to Ofc. Knutson. It was reference to Ofc. Dantoin driving past Ofc. Knutson on her way to backup Lt. Korth on a call. Ofc. Knutson sent back to Lt. Korth, "Tell your girl she can slow down too..." Ofc. Knutson said that he didn't want to cause any more drama with Ofc. Dantoin, so he asked Lt. Korth to just say a citizen complained about her driving. Ofc. Knutson was asked if this was the proper way to handle this, and he said again, that he did not want to create any more drama with Ofc. Dantoin. He was reminded that he went to Ofc. Masiak and created drama about the incident on Washington St.
"MK13" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Ofc. Masiak in reference to [REDACTED]. The message was, "Oh, [REDACTED] left...weird." Ofc. Knutson said that he sent the message because of his observation that [REDACTED] takes off a lot of time. He was asked if this was a violation of policy and he said that it was.
"MK14" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Ofc. Kurt D. Brester, Ofc. Masiak, and [REDACTED]. The message was, "[REDACTED] status 'out at headquarters'...," with the subject line being, "Just reached 1,000 minutes for the month of September." Ofc. Knutson then sends out, "New union proposal four off in the book unless you're ______." Ofc. Knutson was asked if the blank was for [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and he said, "I believe so." Ofc. Knutson went on to say that he was made aware, later in the shift that [REDACTED] was having [REDACTED] and this is why she had spent time at the station. Ofc. Knutson received a message from [REDACTED] that explained that [REDACTED] and he responded to [REDACTED] in a message that said, "I didn't realize [REDACTED] now I feel like a jerk." Ofc. Knutson agreed that this message was, "Nothing positive," and a policy violation.
"MK15" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Lt. Korth. Ofc. Knutson asked Lt. Korth if the County (Brown County Sheriff) had complained on him. Ofc. Knutson explained that this was related to the County asking the Green Bay Police to transport a juvenile runaway from Green Bay, home to his mother in the County. Ofc. Knutson said that he did not say anything to the deputy, but felt that he would get complained on. Lt. Korth responded to his message saying that the County was just, "Whining." It was determined that this was not a policy violation.
"MK16" was a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Ofc. Masiak. Ofc. Knutson sent, "what are you doing?," to Ofc. Masiak. Ofc. Masiak responded, "Driving around." Ofc. Knutson sends back to Ofc. Masiak, "You have been on admin for 2 hours." Ofc. Masiak sent back, "LOL I forgot to clear myself." Ofc. Knutson sends back to Ofc. Masiak, "oh just like your sister, 80 min [REDACTED]." Ofc. Knutson was reminded of message "MK14" where he was told by [REDACTED] that [REDACTED]. He agreed that this message was not appropriate and a policy violation.
"MK17" is a message sent to Ofc. Knutson from Ofc. Masiak. Ofc. Masiak sent to Ofc. Knutson, "I really don't want to do too much with the people in [REDACTED] tonight." Ofc. Knutson responds with, "IDK why would you ever say that." [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson agreed that this was a policy violation.
"MK18" is an all-car message sent out by Ofc. Knutson. In this message he sent, "Disregard all his messages he had too much Kool-aid today." Ofc. Knutson was asked what this was about [REDACTED]. He was asked if police officers should not abide by policy and he agreed that officers should be abiding by policy. This was identified as a policy violation.
"MK19" is a message that Ofc. Knutson received from Angela Knutson, who is an employee in the Records Division of the Green Bay Police Department [REDACTED]. The message from Angela was, "Biemeret apparently has an 'N' added to it and it is pronounced "beer-mint" seriously people, and its someone that's now new." Ofc. Knutson sent back, "who?" Angela sent back to Ofc. Knutson, [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked if he had ever had a conversation [REDACTED] about his issues or concerns with [REDACTED], and he responded, "I'm sure I have." Ofc. Knutson was again reminded of his response to investigators when he said that he has no connection to and does not know much about [REDACTED]. It was clear that Ofc. Knutson has had conversations about [REDACTED] with Angela Knutson. He agreed that this was a policy violation.
"MK20" is an all-car message sent by Ofc. Knutson with, "Lets play a game try to figure out where [REDACTED] is." [REDACTED]. This message shows that Ofc. Knutson is more engaged in sending out messages and focusing on others, as opposed to performing his duties as a police officer.
"MK21" is a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Lt. Jeffrey D. Engelbrecht, "That's because I've been reading lexipol all morning...knowledge is power :)." Ofc. Knutson was asked what the "knowledge is power" portion of the message means, [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson agreed that this was inappropriate for him to use and to reference [REDACTED] in a message.
"MK22" is an all-car message sent by Ofc. Knutson, "Trivia question. How many Goof Troop squads still in the lot?" Ofc. Knutson confirmed that he was calling the [REDACTED] Goof Troopers. This is a derogatory term toward the [REDACTED] and Ofc. Knutson confirmed that this was a policy violation.
"MK23" is an all-car message that Ofc. Knutson sent out related to Lt. Korth giving him a hard time for leaving the nightshift and now working the dayshift. Ofc. Knutson's message was asking if anyone had an extra flashlight because he knew that Lt. Korth was going to send out an annoying message about him working days now. Ofc. Knutson said that he did not think this was a policy violation on his part, but he was asked if he felt it was appropriate for a supervisor to be sending this type of message out. He agreed that it was not appropriate for a supervisor to send out message that were annoying or inappropriate, as it relates to subordinates.
"MK24" is a message that Ofc. Knutson received from Ofc. Masiak. Ofc. Masiak sent, "You better hang out in B tonight." Ofc. Knutson responded back, "why is that." Ofc. Masiak said, "Guess LOL." Ofc. Knutson responded with, "I already know." [REDACTED]. He agreed that this was a policy violation.
"MK25" is a message sent by Ofc. Knutson to Ofc. Masiak. His message was, "So she's in the river." Ofc. Knutson continues with, "Don't think she's quite had the mic shoved down her throat enough with all that background breathing I hear either." Ofc. Knutson said that this message was about [REDACTED] and how she uses the radio. He was again asked if it was appropriate to talk behind her back and he replied, "No." He agreed this was a policy violation.
"MK26" is a message that Ofc. Knutson sent to Ofc. Kevin J. Bahl, Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, Ofc. Spoerl, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, and Ofc. Pheuchi M. Xiong. The message was, "I will never come take an OWI for [REDACTED] again....ever." Ofc. Knutson was asked what [REDACTED] was, and he said this was referring to [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked why he was calling [REDACTED] and he said it was related to a Keenan and Peele sketch. He was asked if this was a video that was laced with highly racially-charged humor and Ofc. Knutson replied, "Yes, from what I can remember."
Ofc. Knutson was then asked how it started that he called [REDACTED]. He said that it started with [REDACTED] referring to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] referring to [REDACTED]. He went on to say that Ofc. Benjamin Walker? was referred to as "White Walker?" and Ofc. Aaron Walker? was referred to as "Black Walker?." Ofc. Knutson was asked if he ever referred to Ofc. Aaron Walker? as "Black Walker?" and he said that he was sure that he had. He was asked if this was potentially a racist comment and he agreed that it was. Ofc. Knutson was asked if he could remember anyone else who used the name "Black Walker?." [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson understood that this message was inappropriate and was a policy violation.
Ofc. Knutson was asked if he had ever heard of, or seen, the "[REDACTED] Walk." [REDACTED]. During the course of the investigation, investigators were told that some supervisors and possibly officers were imitating how [REDACTED] walks, but also imitated how an ape walks. Ofc. Knutson demonstrated the walk [REDACTED].
"MK27" is an all-car message that Ofc. Knutson sent about [REDACTED] calling out on the police radio that she was at Main St. and Museum Pl. He was asked if it was appropriate to call out another officer over the MDT, and he said that it was not appropriate and it was a policy violation.
"MK28" is an all-car message that Ofc. Knutson sent out about [REDACTED]. The message was, "Ofc. Xiong ran over my duty bag tonight. Yes, completely over the top. Think there's some truth to that driving thing." Ofc. Knutson was asked what this was about and he said it was related to a stereotype of how Asians are bad drivers. He was asked if this was appropriate and he said, "No." He was asked if this was a policy violation and he said, "Yes."
"MK29" is an all-car message sent by Ofc. Knutson in reference to, "How come [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] never fight over taking calls?" He admitted the message was a "bag" (criticism) on [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] over who is or is not taking calls in their assigned zones or districts. He said that this was inappropriate and a policy violation.
This was the conclusion of the review of MDT messages with Ofc. Knutson. He was asked if he thinks that the MDT messages that he sent, and the messages that he responded to, contributed to some of the harassment issues that were happening on the nightshift, and he replied, "Yes." He was also asked if these messages could be viewed as racially-charged and inappropriate, and not at all what we are about at the Green Bay Police Department, and he agreed with this as well. Ofc. Knutson also agreed that this behavior has created what could be viewed as a hostile work environment.
Ofc. Knutson said that all of this is not reflective of his character and it is not how he wishes to present himself. He again said that he was embarrassed. Investigators talked with Ofc. Knutson about the initial interview with him, specifically his response to the question of, "How well do you know Ofc. Dantoin??" and "What is your relationship with Ofc. Dantoin??" Ofc. Knutson elaborated on this and said, "In hindsight to my interviews, I think that they went poorly." He said that he could have elaborated more on his answers to these questions, and that he developed his opinion of Ofc. Dantoin? based on what others had told him about her. He said that he did not directly know much about her tactics, performance, admin-time, and all the things that were brought up, but basically this was a second-hand opinion of her. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked about what he remembered about the rumor of [REDACTED]. During his initial interviews, [REDACTED]. In the second interview with Ofc. Knutson, [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was then asked about showing officers the picture he took of the photo that he posted of Ofc. Dantoin.
Ofc. Knutson then talked about the night that he printed the picture of Ofc. Dantoin and posted it on [REDACTED]. [REDACTED]. He said that he took the picture, sent out the text message of the picture, then took down the picture and shredded it. He said that he shredded it because he felt that it could be seen in a negative light. Ofc. Knutson was asked if this means that he knew it was inappropriate and he agreed that he knew it was.
Ofc. Knutson was asked to recall the events that led up to him posting the picture of Ofc. Dantoin. He said that he was working OWI patrol overtime and had made an OWI arrest. He then stopped in the Shift Commander's office to turn in his paperwork [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson said that he looked at the chair where Ofc. Dantoin had been working [REDACTED]. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson said that this was when he printed, posted, and took photos of Ofc. Dantoin's employee picture. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked if Lt. Korth knew that he was making the picture [REDACTED]. He was asked what Lt. Korth said, [REDACTED]. He was asked if Lt. Korth told him that this wasn't a good idea or if he told him to take it down [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked if Lt. Korth had ever done the "[REDACTED] Walk" in derogatory terms toward [REDACTED] and/or if he knew of Lt. Korth using derogatory comments toward a specific race. [REDACTED]. He was asked specifically if Lt. Korth had used the "N-word" [REDACTED]. He was asked if he used the "N-word" specific to [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson went on to say [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson went on to say [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson also told the story [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked what this means and he said, "Just n!ggers being n!ggers." [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked to explain the context in which Lt. Korth used the "N-word" or the "JNBN" term. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked if he could recall if any other supervisors used these terms [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked to elaborate more on the "[REDACTED] Walk." He was asked if he could see racial undertones in this and [REDACTED]. Ofc. Knutson was asked if he could recall any other comments that officers had made [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson talked about the fact that [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked if there was a sediment from senior officers to junior officers that "You're here, but you're not part of the team yet." [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was asked if he has ever felt that he has been harassed or discriminated against and he said that he does not feel that he has. He asked what he has learned from this situation and he responded that he has learned what not to do and what he should have done. He has learned what real leadership is and that he has made some mistakes.
This ended our third interview with Ofc. Knutson.
On January 23, 2017, Ofc. Knutson came to the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) and [REDACTED].
Investigators met with Ofc. Knutson on January 24, 2017 to take his official statement in regards to this additional information. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Knutson was also asked if he had heard anything about Ofc. Masiak stealing or not giving Ofc. Dantoin her handcuffs back. [REDACTED].
This ended the follow-up interview with Ofc. Knutson.
Lt. Robert J. Korth and Ofc. R. Casey Masiak Disposition
As noted in the Executive Summary, no interviews were conducted with Lt. Korth or Ofc. Masiak, as both submitted resignations during the course of the internal investigation and prior to being interviewed.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 15, 2016, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators met with and interviewed [REDACTED] was interviewed as a witness officer because he was believed to have been [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that he had known Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin before she was employed by the Green Bay Police Department [REDACTED].
He described Ofc. Dantoin as a, "Confident police officer," and stated that she was very effective and efficient in the way that she did her policing. [REDACTED]. He stated that it was his belief [REDACTED]. He stated that Ofc. Dantoin was a very confident officer who had a command presence about her, and used her communication skills to help through crisis intervention when she was responding to calls. He stated that she was a very, "Empathetic officer."
[REDACTED] stated that Ofc. Dantoin had confided in him about a couple of incidents where she felt that she was being harassed by Ofc. R. Casey Masiak. One of the incidents happened in [REDACTED] had called out with a traffic stop and [REDACTED] stated that he recalled [REDACTED] saying that because they were close they backed up [REDACTED]. He said that at some point during his investigation [REDACTED] requested that a different officer come over and take an OWI report. [REDACTED] stated that he recalled that Ofc. Masiak had sent out an all-car MDT message. [REDACTED] was working that night and when he received the all-car message, and he thought to himself about Ofc. Masiak, "What an idiot." He stated that he had that reaction because as an experienced officer, he knew that when officers would send MDT messages out that they needed to be professional and that you could get "jammed up" if they weren't.
[REDACTED] stated that later in the evening he went into see the Shift Commander reference Ofc. Masiak's MDT message to complain. He believed that [REDACTED] was the Shift Commander. He stated that he was assured by him that it was, "Going to be handled." [REDACTED] stated that he later spoke with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and assured them that after speaking with [REDACTED] that it would addressed. [REDACTED] commented that [REDACTED] that he would have expected that Ofc. Masiak would have received at least a counseling register entry for sending this kind of message.
At the end of [REDACTED] shift he stated that he walking out of headquarters and he came across Ofc. Masiak walking in. [REDACTED] stated that he had made a comment to Ofc. Masiak something similar to, "Sending out that message was pretty stupid and you're probably gonna to get jammed up for it." He stated that Ofc. Masiak did not reply to his comment.
[REDACTED] stated that he discovered later that the entire incident was passed onto a mentoring lieutenant, who he thought was [REDACTED], but he was not sure. He said that he found out that there would be no counseling register entry for Ofc. Masiak and that the incident was handled verbally with him by a supervisor. He believed he was told this information by [REDACTED], but was not sure and he was not positive that it was [REDACTED] who was the mentoring lieutenant. When asked if it could have been Lt. Korth who handled this issue, he stated that he was not sure.
[REDACTED]. He stated that there was no question that Ofc. Masiak's MDT message was specifically meant for [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], but he still felt obligated that he had come forward and report this to the Shift Commander.
[REDACTED] stated that he vividly remembers a phone call and conversations that he had with both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] reference to them walking into roll-call and hearing a conversation about how they were being talked about. It happened at the end of their shift and they were walking into roll-call, and as they walked in, they heard somebody speaking to Ofc. Masiak and said something to the effect of, "Don't worry, we got your back, nothing's going to happen." [REDACTED] said that he remembers this incident very well because the conversation he had with [REDACTED] he described her as being very upset about what she had overheard and she had made the comment to [REDACTED] of, "Who is advocating for me?" [REDACTED] commented that he did not blame Ofc. Dantoin? for the way she felt about this incident.
The second incident that [REDACTED] stated he recalled involving Ofc. Dantoin was the night of a SWAT call. He stated that [REDACTED]. He stated that it was a potential barricaded subject situation where shots had been fired [REDACTED] the subjects had been taken into custody. [REDACTED] and at some point [REDACTED] was on the call and had made the comment to the group of officers standing inside of the house, "Whose call is this?" [REDACTED] said at that time, Ofc. Masiak was present, along with a group of other officers, and Ofc. Masiak replied, "It's Ofc. Dantoin's." [REDACTED] stated he was there when this conversation was taking place and he recalls [REDACTED] asked where Ofc. Dantoin was. Ofc. Masiak responded with something to the effect of, "Doing everything she can to avoid paperwork, probably out on perimeter." [REDACTED] said there were other officers on scene and he is positive that they had heard the comment that Ofc. Masiak made to [REDACTED]. He believed a couple of those officers were [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that he just kind of tucked the comment in the back of his mind and when the call was over, he had contacted Ofc. Dantoin to find out what was going on. He stated that he does not recall if it was in person or through an MDT message. He stated that when he talked to Ofc. Dantoin it became apparent to him that there was an ongoing pattern which had been developing, and he was trying to figure out exactly what was the reason that Ofc. Masiak had such issues with Ofc. Dantoin. [REDACTED] stated that while talking with Ofc. Dantoin, she said she had talked with [REDACTED] when he was on the nightshift and that [REDACTED] had always addressed these issues and, "Reigned him in (Masiak)." [REDACTED] believed that [REDACTED] had a lot of respect for the way that [REDACTED] had handled the shift and addressed these issues, and felt that he advocated for her. [REDACTED] stated that he had always heard that [REDACTED] would clamp down on such issues and he had total confidence that this issue with Ofc. Dantoin and Ofc. Masiak was being handled appropriately.
[REDACTED] stated that through past discussions with Ofc. Dantoin that she had previously contacted other supervisors about incidents with Ofc. Masiak, but he does not recall when and what supervisors they were. [REDACTED] stated it was his opinion [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that Ofc. Dantoin had told him that she was going to do everything she could to avoid Ofc. Masiak, and any potential issues that they might have between themselves.
The previous two incidents that [REDACTED] talked about are the ones that he personally witnessed. He stated that over time Ofc. Dantoin had shared other incidents with him [REDACTED]. He cannot remember the specifics of those incidents, but the tone was, "What could Ofc. Dantoin do herself to better the situation?" [REDACTED] stated that as [REDACTED] he had an assumption that these matters were being addressed by [REDACTED] supervisors.
[REDACTED] stated that he knows that Ofc. Dantoin had approached [REDACTED] to switch districts and to get out of District Bravo so she could avoid the issues. [REDACTED] stated, "I'll be very frank with you, we don't have these sort of issues [REDACTED]." He stated when he has the occasion to work with Ofc. Dantoin, he never sees any issues like this. He described this as a specific, "[REDACTED] problem."
[REDACTED] was asked if he had heard of [REDACTED] having any issues with other officers, and he stated that he could not remember any specifics, but through the rumor mill and anecdote stories he thinks that [REDACTED] was, "Lumped into some of this by association."
[REDACTED] stated that these incidents have been happening between Ofc. Dantoin and Ofc. Masiak for approximately 1.5 years. He stated within the last couple of weeks there have been moments where he knows that Ofc. Dantoin has been brought to tears, and that now she is starting to blame herself, and that one of her greatest fears is that all of these issues are her fault and that she created this. [REDACTED] stated that while speaking with Ofc. Dantoin, she has told him that she does not know what she has done wrong to deserve this, and that she does not know why this is happening.
During [REDACTED] conversations with [REDACTED] over this period of time, he stated [REDACTED]. He sees her [REDACTED]. He stated that [REDACTED] stated [REDACTED]. He stated [REDACTED]. He again [REDACTED] described her as [REDACTED] commented that [REDACTED].
Interview with [REDACTED]
An interview was conducted with [REDACTED] on December 22, 2016. [REDACTED] was advised that he was a witness officer to the events surrounding this complaint. [REDACTED] was asked if he knew that per GBPD policy, he is to answer all questions truthfully and completely, and he acknowledged he did. He was asked if he understood that failure to answer all question truthfully and completely could result in discipline, and he acknowledged he did. [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] was asked if he was aware of anyone on the nightshift that has been harassed, bullied, intimidated, or made fun of, either in-person or behind their back. [REDACTED] said other that rumors, he has not personally seen or heard any harassment by anyone. He said he has heard rumors about Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin which was a lot of, "Bitching and complaining," about how she does her job and that she is never at work. [REDACTED] also said he has heard, "Little tidbits," about [REDACTED]. He was asked who he had heard the rumors from, [REDACTED] said specifically [REDACTED] and a couple of times from [REDACTED]. He referenced [REDACTED] comment as being more of job performance related issues. He said he also heard comments from [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked about MDT messages being sent out and he said he receives the same message everyone else does, and if they do no pertain to him, he deletes them right away. He said he does remember the message Ofc. R. Casey Masiak had sent out when [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said Ofc. Masiak sent out a "stupid" message saying they can show up on a call and not do any of the paperwork. He said again that the message was, "Something stupid like that." He said he thought to himself, "What a stupid thing," and he deleted it. [REDACTED] said that's all he could remember, [REDACTED] went on to say that most of the complaining he has heard is when he goes into the break room and, "They," are in there. [REDACTED], "They," will be complaining about Ofc. Dantoin? not showing up for work or "milking" calls.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had ever worked with Ofc. Dantoin? and what is opinion was of her quality of work. He said she has worked in District [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said he also had heard, "Grumblings," about [REDACTED]. He said no one came to him directly and complained, but he heard some talk about [REDACTED]. He said that he approached [REDACTED] in the locker room a few months back and told him to ignore "them," and to just do his job. [REDACTED] again said he doesn't know exactly what was said, but he knew [REDACTED] was upset because of something that was said or done by, "That group." [REDACTED] was asked what exactly he had said to [REDACTED] and he said he doesn't remember what he heard or what had been said about [REDACTED], but knew that it would be hurtful to a new officer. He said the comment made wasn't racial in nature, but was more along the lines of [REDACTED] doing something stupid on a call or that he was stupid. [REDACTED] said he went to [REDACTED] locker in the morning after shift, because he knew the comment had come from Ofc. Kurt D. Brester, Ofc. Masiak and, "That group," and told [REDACTED] to, "Ignore them, just do you job."
[REDACTED] was asked if he has heard or seen any MDT messages or anything about a supervisor or the supervision on nights. [REDACTED] replied back, [REDACTED]. He was then asked what he thought of the supervision on nights and he said, [REDACTED]. He said that when certain complaints or issues are brought to a supervisor, nothing gets done about it. He said, [REDACTED]. He said there have been times when he has brought issues to supervisors about officers and nothing seemed to be done about it. He then said, "[REDACTED]. Part of the problem was in [REDACTED] District and the supervisor." [REDACTED] said [REDACTED] was the supervisor and that he [REDACTED]. He said he does not know what [REDACTED] has or hasn't done about the problem, but he knows he has spoken to him directly about the, "[REDACTED] guys," and their arrogance, conceitedness and their feeling that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and to whomever they want. [REDACTED] said he has spoken to him approximately six times about the issue and he doesn't know if it has or hasn't ever been addressed.
[REDACTED] was asked if he has ever been harassed and he said, "No," he has never felt that. He was then read a MDT message from Ofc. Masiak to Ofc. Brester which stated, "Did Korth tell you what [REDACTED] said about me?" [REDACTED] said he did not know what the message was in reference too. Again, he said he has had conversations with [REDACTED] and other supervisors about "that crew." He said he will often go into the Shift Commander's office in the morning [REDACTED] and have conversations with whatever supervisor is in there and they talk about [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] was asked if he thought things on the nightshift had gotten better, worse, or have stayed the same, since the captains were removed and he replied, "Worse?".
[REDACTED] was asked if he thought the messages being sent out by Lt. Robert C. Korth were appropriate for a supervisor to be sending and [REDACTED] said, "Absolutely not." [REDACTED] said he doesn't know if the messages are inappropriate, but said he will read them quick, think that was stupid, then delete them. He said he doesn't make a mental note of those types of messages.
[REDACTED] was asked if he has ever confronted Ofc. Masiak about his behavior and he said he had talked to [REDACTED] a while ago and told him he needed to separate himself from Ofc. Masiak because he thought he was going in the wrong direction. [REDACTED] said he has told Ofc. Masiak to, "Keep your mouth shut." He explained that when all of this came to light and the Chief came in and addressed the nightshift, [REDACTED] and Ofc. Masiak was [REDACTED], "Spouting off." Officer [REDACTED] said Ofc. Masiak was complaining about everything that was going on and he usually ignores it.
[REDACTED] said that with everything that is going on, he walked over to Ofc. Masiak and said, "Look, here's some fatherly advice, shut the f*ck up!" [REDACTED] said Ofc. Masiak didn't say anything, and he was dead serious. He said Ofc. Masiak just stood there and had a "smart ass" grin on his face. [REDACTED] said he turned and walked away. He said, [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if he thought something needed to be done about what was going on with the nightshift. He said he doesn't really know all that is going on [REDACTED], but heard it all started because of a picture. He said he has never seen the picture, but just heard about it and said, "Absolutely," something needed to be done.
[REDACTED] was asked if [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] had ever had a conversation with him about being harassed or picked-on, and he said, "No." He thought the message that Ofc. Masiak had sent when [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were working together, was more directed at [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] asked if he recalled what exactly Ofc. Masiak was saying [REDACTED] that prompted him to confront Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] said he could not specifically recall what he was saying, but with what was happening and knowing there was a, "Black cloud," over the nightshift, he told him to, "Shut the f*ck up." He said he heard [REDACTED] name thrown out and Ofc. Masiak say something to the effect of, "Sure, and that's not harassment." [REDACTED] said when he heard the word harassment thrown out, that was enough and he confronted him.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had been contacted by anyone, or talked to anyone, about the nightshift investigation prior to his interview. He said he talked to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] about it, [REDACTED]. He was asked what [REDACTED] told him what he thought about it. [REDACTED] said, [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said, "We all goof around with each other, but if it's gotten to the point that we're here, then it must be out of hand."
[REDACTED] said from what he has heard about the things going on at the police department, [REDACTED]. He said he did recently hear that someone made another person cry, and that he has never heard that happen before in the past.
[REDACTED] was then asked if he had ever remembered any other supervisor who had sent out MDT messages in the same manner as Lt. Korth and [REDACTED] said, "No." [REDACTED] said he is aware of the messaging, asked how does he go to Lt. Korth and tell him to knock it off. He said Lt. Korth is a supervisor and it is not his place to tell a supervisor to stop doing something.
[REDACTED] said if he would have known about the personal "ribbing" of another officer to the point of that person being in tears, he would have put an end to it. He said nothing like that has occurred in his presence. [REDACTED] opined this activity is directly related to when the captains removed from the shifts. He said the lieutenants don't have that one person to go to. He said, "We don't have that big toe on the foot to go to."
[REDACTED] said he heard that Ofc. Dantoin was the one that was brought to tears from being, "Ribbed." He said he can't recall who told him, or what it was that made her cry, but he can only assume it is the same people we had been talking about. He said he heard that she did something on a call and, "They ribbed her," to the point where she was crying. He said that whoever told him that, he remembered telling them it was completely wrong if it had happened. [REDACTED] and it could have been [REDACTED] that told him about Ofc. Dantoin being made to cry.
[REDACTED] was then asked if he thought the involved officers were following what one of their supervisors (Lt. Korth) was doing or if it was a learned behavior. [REDACTED] said, [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] then said that Lt. Korth has been in charge of District C for a long time and he [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said he could not give specific dates or examples of this, [REDACTED] was asked to give an example of what he was talking about [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said it's there and you kind of see it. He said he was talking with [REDACTED] and he told [REDACTED] that he thinks the officers are following what their lieutenant is doing. [REDACTED] said this is just his opinion. [REDACTED] again said he could not give any specific examples [REDACTED] and he sees it. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if he has seen a change in [REDACTED] after he [REDACTED] had a talk with him, telling him he needed to separate himself from Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] said he had. He said he has had that talk with [REDACTED] a few times and has definitely seen a change in his behavior. [REDACTED] was asked if he felt the change in [REDACTED] was because of the talk he had with him and he said he did not know. [REDACTED] said he was not sure if anyone else had talked with [REDACTED] telling him the same thing. [REDACTED] said after he had confronted Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED], he was walking back to [REDACTED] when [REDACTED] told him that he was glad he had said something to Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] said that Ofc. Masiak would not listen to him.
[REDACTED] was asked if he thought there was a "ring leader' for what was going on with the shift. In his opinion, [REDACTED]. He said he doesn't know what any supervisors have, or have not done, to address it with him. He has heard Ofc. Masiak make jokes about captains in roll-call before, and he did not think it was appropriate for a new officer to being doing that. He explained that it used to be "taboo" to make fun of a captain. He said they used to make fun of each other, and that was O.K.
[REDACTED] was asked if he thought Lt. Korth's actions undermined what other supervisors were trying to accomplish. He said he thinks of it like divorced parents and how one parent is the disciplinarian, and the other allows the child to get away with whatever they want. [REDACTED]. He said, "Yes," meaning Lt. Korth's actions do undermine the other supervisors.
[REDACTED] was asked if he remembered any of the captains addressing roll-call, or anyone having gone to a captain about issues that were not addressed and [REDACTED] said, "No." He was asked if anyone had made comments about captains that were on the shift and he said, "No." He did say he remembered Ofc. Masiak making a comment one time, when [REDACTED] was down in roll-call, but did not remember what it was.
He did say that [REDACTED] had recently addressed roll-call, telling them that there is a "line" and that "line" should not be crossed. [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said [REDACTED] did this a few months ago and basically said there is a "fine line" with harassment and he [REDACTED] told them to, "Knock it off." [REDACTED] was asked if there was anyone else he thought we should talk too in regards to this investigation and he said, "No."
He was advised that this was an active investigation and that he should not talk about it with anyone other than his union representation. He was told if he remembered anything or had any questions about what we discussed, to contact the Professional Standards Division (LOL!).
Investigators concluded the interview at this time. A short time later [REDACTED] came in and advised us that [REDACTED] had some additional information that he wanted to tell us. Investigators then went back into the conference room and continued the interview.
[REDACTED] said he does not know what made him think of this situation and prefaced that he does not know who, or when, he was told about the incident, but knew it was started by a supervisor. He said he heard the incident occurred downstairs in the basement of the police department and [REDACTED] was walking in front of Lt. Korth and Lt. Korth made gestures like a gorilla behind [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said he just thought of it and doesn't know when it happened, or who had told him about it. [REDACTED] was asked if hearing about this incident [REDACTED]. He said he thought that even before he heard about this incident. [REDACTED] did say that after hearing about the incident [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] was asked if he thought it would have been funny if he witnessed Lt. Korth doing this and he said, "Absolutely not!"
[REDACTED] was then asked if he has ever witnessed an atmosphere in the Shift Commander's office being like a "frat house" when Lt. Korth is the Shift Commander. [REDACTED] said that he has seen six to eight people gathered in the Shift Commander's office, all sitting all around the counters and chairs when Lt. Korth is in there. He said it was more camaraderie and, "They," (several officers) would be in there joking around. He said it was usually from 4-5 a.m. when there isn't a lot going on out on the road. [REDACTED] was asked who "they" were, and he said it was all of the Charlie? District guys. He named [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] as the group. He said he observed Officers [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] in the Shift Commander's office every once in a while. He said it is more with Lt. Korth than with any other supervisor.
The interview was concluded at this time.
Interview with [REDACTED]
Investigators conducted an interview with [REDACTED] on December 19, 2016. The reason for the interview was explained to [REDACTED], as an investigation was being conducted into allegations of harassment by several Green Bay Police nightshift officers.
Investigators explained a call that Ofc. R. Casey Masiak and Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin were on and [REDACTED] asked if this was a call for domestic violence where a set of handcuffs went missing and [REDACTED] was advised this was in fact the call in question. [REDACTED] explained that he was on a domestic disturbance call with [REDACTED] and a female suspect was going to be going to jail. [REDACTED] said Ofc. Dantoin handcuffed the female and Ofc. Masiak arrived and told them that since the call was in District B (which was his District), he would do the transport. [REDACTED] said he turned the female over to Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] said Ofc. Dantoin later messaged him asking if he knew where her handcuffs were and he told her he did not know where her cuffs were, and that he turned the female over to Ofc. Masiak. He further said that he did not change out the handcuffs before he turned the female over to Ofc. Masiak, meaning Ofc. Dantoin's handcuffs were still on the female when she was transported to jail. [REDACTED] said the only time the female was out of handcuffs was when she needed to use the restroom and he took her out of the cuffs so she could use the bathroom, and then he put the handcuffs back on.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had ever asked Ofc. Masiak about the handcuffs and he said he did later in the locker room and Ofc. Masiak had either told him he did not know what he did with them, or that he had put them on the Shift Commander's desk. [REDACTED] however, could not remember exactly what Ofc. Masiak had told him. [REDACTED] was not sure if he had told Ofc. Masiak that the handcuffs were Ofc. Dantoin's while on scene, but he was sure he had told him later when she asked him about her cuffs. [REDACTED] was again asked if Ofc. Masiak had told him what he had done with the handcuffs and [REDACTED] said he was almost sure Ofc. Masiak told him he had put them on the Shift Commander's desk. He was asked if Ofc. Masiak had ever talked about the handcuffs after their initial conversation in the locker room and [REDACTED] said, "No."
[REDACTED] was asked his opinion on Ofc. Dantoin's work performance and he said [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] was asked if there was anyone on nightshift that he could name as being responsible for bullying Ofc. Dantoin and he said Ofc. Masiak does not like Ofc. Dantoin. He also said that Ofc. Kurt D. Brester does not like her, [REDACTED].
He was asked if he could recall any MDT messages being sent out about [REDACTED] that would be inappropriate and he said at times he has seen messages from at least half the shift that he would read and think they probably should not have sent them out. He was asked if there were any individuals that stood out in his mind that send out those types of messages and he said Lt. Robert C. Korth stands out in his mind as sending out those types of messages all the time. He also mentioned Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak as ones that send out messages. He said they usually did not send them out as all-car messages, but would send them to a select group of officers. He was asked if he thought the messages were inappropriate and he said not necessarily, but more unprofessional. He said sometimes the messages are meant as a joke, but there are times some of the messages should not be sent out, as they are open to public records.
In regards to Ofc. Dantoin's work ethic, [REDACTED] was asked if he observed the decline in Ofc. Dantoin's work performance right away [REDACTED], or if the decline was more recent. He said that about a month after she was done training that she had made a comment to him that he should use as much time-off as he could. He said he told her that he was trying to save his days off to build up his vacation bank in case of an emergency and she told him that was a, "Dumb idea," and he should use as much time as the Department provides him. He said at that time, Ofc. Dantoin was already "burning" all of her time and that is not his type of work ethic, and he does not take a lot of time-off. He said for her to make a full five day work week was, "Shocking." He then referred back to the incident where her handcuffs went missing and he said she was working hard at trying not to make an arrest, because it was the end of her shift.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had ever sent out a message belittling Ofc. Dantoin? and he said he was not sure if he ever did. He said there are certain people on the shift that you can send messages out to joking with them and there are certain people you can't. He said there was an incident where they went to a call and Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Dantoin? responded. He said he made a joking comment to Ofc. Masiak like, "It's about time you start taking calls in your area." [REDACTED] said he said this to Ofc. Masiak in a joking manner, but Ofc. Dantoin? overheard him make the comment and she became upset about it. He said he did not direct the comment at her, and it was a joke made to Ofc. Masiak. He said he thinks she complained to a supervisor about it and he talked about it with her after shift. He said he told her that he was joking around, and if she did not like the comment, that she could come to him and tell him she did not care for the comment. He said because of that, he does not joke around with her about things.
[REDACTED] was asked, [REDACTED] if she had ever confided in him about some of the issues she was having on the shift and he said, "No."
[REDACTED] said that he knew when he went to nightshift that the nightshift officers would make fun of people.
He was asked if there were any other supervisors or officers that send out unprofessional messages and he said there was not. He said he did know that MDT messages could be monitored at any time. He further said he knows that the shift has been told multiple times to not send out unprofessional messages. He said Union Representatives from the shift, as well as supervisors, have told them to watch what they are sending out on the MDTs. He said he knows for sure [REDACTED] has told them that.
The interview was concluded at this time.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 22, 2016 [REDACTED] was interviewed by the Professional Standards Division (LOL!). He was told that the Green Bay Police Department was investigating harassment and bullying on the nightshift and he was seen as a witness or possibly a victim of the above actions. [REDACTED] was asked if he knew of any employees who have been harassed or bullied and he identified [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] as not getting along with other officers in District [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said that other officers have told him that [REDACTED] does not take constructive criticism well. The officers who have complained about Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin were primarily Ofc. R. Casey Masiak and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester. He said that most of the complaints were of either a tactical nature or about showing up late for calls. He next said the supervisors were not seeing the issues that the officers had brought forward. [REDACTED] said that since Ofc. Dantoin didn't seem to take constructive criticism well from the officers, conversations were had with the complaining officers to start over with [REDACTED] and he didn't believe that the problems continued after those conversations. He did explain that Ofc. Masiak complains a lot, [REDACTED].
When asked about the complaints about Ofc. Dantoin, [REDACTED] said the similar complaints came in mainly from Ofc. Masiak, and initially from Ofc. Brester, that were similar to the complaints on [REDACTED]. He said specifically that the complaints were related to her sitting in the [REDACTED] parking lot and stopping suspicious vehicles or people. He also said that the complaints from these two officers, seemed to lack credibility because there were no performance issues seen by supervisors in regards to Ofc. Dantoin. He said that the level of complaints would lead a person to think that both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were stumbling and falling over their feet, [REDACTED]. He said that he tried to go on calls with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and although he was on more calls with [REDACTED] he did not see the issues that were being complained about.
[REDACTED] said that he had a problem with Ofc. Masiak on a call were he had stopped a reckless driver and Ofc. Masiak was dispatched to back him up. [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], but they were close to the stop and covered him on the stop until Ofc. Masiak was able to get to the location. He said that Ofc. Masiak sent out an all-car message similar to, "Amazing how they can go to calls when there is no paperwork." [REDACTED] said when he finished the call, he went in the station and reviewed the policies that he felt Ofc. Masiak violated by sending the message. He said that he called Ofc. Masiak into the station to discuss this issue, and came in as Ofc. Masiak's [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said that he went over the policies with Ofc. Masiak and felt that Ofc. Masiak owned the mistake and explained that he was frustrated working with Ofc. Dantoin.
[REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] came in a few days later to express support for [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] about the issue with Ofc. Masiak's MDT message. He said that he told [REDACTED] that he had already spoken to Ofc. Masiak and the issue would be dealt with because he felt that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] did what they were supposed be doing. When he spoke with [REDACTED], [REDACTED] said that the plan was to issue Ofc. Masiak a counseling register entry for the policy violation.
[REDACTED] said that he spoke with Lt. Robert J. Korth about the issue with Ofc. Masiak's MDT message because Ofc. Masiak was in his mentoring group. He said that Lt. Korth didn't think the message was a big deal. He said that he next met with [REDACTED] about the message and [REDACTED] was not happy about the message but stated that it would be hard to write up Ofc. Masiak about sending a message when Lt. Korth sends out messages all the time. The counseling register entry was never completed or issued to Ofc. Masiak.
[REDACTED] except for Lt. Korth. He said that Lt. Korth does very well with tactical situations, which he respects. [REDACTED] said that problems occur when there is some conflict or problem to work out and in those times, Lt. Korth just avoids him. He gave an example [REDACTED] in the Shift Commander's office. He said that he called or messaged Lt. Korth to have Lt. Korth come in because he is an Assistant SWAT Commander to help him [REDACTED]. He waited for Lt. Korth to come in, but he didn't [REDACTED]. He said that he stopped Lt. Korth, and Lt. Korth just told him that this wasn't a big deal and just drove away without giving him any explanations or solutions. He said that he tried to meet up with Lt. Korth later but Lt. Korth avoided him to the point where [REDACTED] said he gave Lt. Korth an ultimatum to meet up or he would go to Capt. Todd C. LePine. He said that they did meet up with Lt. Korth at Webster St. and University Ave. and felt that Lt. Korth just ignored him while he was trying to talk about this issue.
When asked if he thought that he was the victim or intimidation, harassment, hazing or bullying, [REDACTED] initially said, "No." He was then asked if Lt. Korth gave him any nicknames and agreed that he was called [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] by Lt. Korth. [REDACTED] said that he initially played off the nicknames as a joke, but after it gets said a number of times it would get irritating, but he wouldn't necessarily respond to it because he would look gullible. [REDACTED] didn't think that Lt. Korth gave him the nicknames as fun, he didn't want to give Lt. Korth the power to let him think that he was intimidated, and felt the nicknames were disrespectful. He also said that Lt. Korth sends out quite a few all-car MDT messages about being [REDACTED] or doing something else.
[REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would also say things to make fun of him when he wears his full belt and vest when he works the desk. He said that Lt. Korth would make fun of him for this in front of other people including officers. [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth sends out inappropriate MDT messages and no other supervisors send out messages like that. He recalled that Lt. Korth has sent out messages about [REDACTED] putting on his jacket and messages titled, "Knowledge is Power." He knew that the message about putting on a jacket was in reference to an incident on Washington Street from a while back, and commented that it was funny at first but isn't funny anymore after the 100th time. [REDACTED] said he did not know where the "Knowledge is Power" comment came from.
He said that Lt. Korth plays the music loud when Lt. Korth is assigned to the Shift Commander's desk and other officers do hang around with him in the office. [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth also plays fishing videos a lot more than anyone else when he is assigned to the desk. He also said that Lt. Korth calls [REDACTED] lazy in front of other supervisors. He said that it was possible that Lt. Korth would have called those officers lazy in front of other officers. Within the last week, [REDACTED] said that he had heard that Lt. Korth had danced around like a monkey and it was construed that the dance was imitating [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that he has heard Ofc. Masiak complaining about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] before work. He said that the comments were made around the time of this past summer, but he did not say anything to Ofc. Masiak about the comments. [REDACTED] recalled that there was an issue with Ofc. Masiak telling [REDACTED] that she could leave calls. He said that from Ofc. Masiak's view, this was just saying that [REDACTED] could leave because the job was done. He said that from [REDACTED] view, Ofc. Masiak would just tell her to leave the call as soon as she showed up. [REDACTED] said that he did not recall [REDACTED] ever coming to him to complain about any issues with Ofc. Masiak. He said that the reason that he would have spoken with the other supervisors on the nightshift was the constant complaining from Ofc. Masiak. He also said that Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was hesitant to label himself a victim of the harassment from Lt. Korth, but in the totality of the messages and work conditions with Lt. Korth, he did say that he was a victim of Lt. Korth's behavior. He said that Ofc. Masiak and Lt. Korth were the two primary people causing the harassment on the nightshift. [REDACTED] said that he [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] probably only saw parts of the problem with the issue of certain nightshift officers not getting along. He said that they did talk about things in about a hundred of small conversations around a couple months ago and [REDACTED] was starting to address this by going over policies with the officers on the shift just before the nightshift problems finally blew up. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said that he regrets not going further with the counseling register on Ofc. Masiak and further regrets that he let another supervisor influence his decision to not issue the counseling register. He said that he felt he let the department down and let himself down by not issuing the counseling register, and described this as allowing himself to be, "Dumbed down," by another supervisor.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 22, 2016 [REDACTED] was interview by the Professional Standards Division (LOL!). She was told that she was not the subject of this investigation and that the contents of this case, and this interview, will be reviewed by the administration of the police department. [REDACTED] was told that the purpose of the interview is to determine if she was ever a victim of harassment and that she was not a subject of the investigation.
[REDACTED] was asked if she was ever the victim of any type of harassment while working at the Green Bay Police Department. [REDACTED] says she has been left alone, pretty much, adding she recalled one MDT message that was, "Kind of for her," but she thinks it was more for [REDACTED]. She added that this was during a traffic stop that [REDACTED] called out with. [REDACTED] had later spoken to both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] telling them that an all-car message was sent out about them, and they needed to be made aware of it. The message was sent by Ofc. R. Casey Masiak. [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were in a car that did not have a computer, thus they would have never saw the message. She recalled [REDACTED] called them into the Shift Commander's office to discuss this message. She couldn't recall who would have been working the Shift Commander's desk on this date, [REDACTED] was a Road Supervisor this day. [REDACTED] had printed off the message, had them read it, and advised them that he was not aware this was going on, on the nightshift, and wanted to hear their thoughts about this and anything else going on.
[REDACTED] explained she was a little upset at first. [REDACTED] has told her in confidence some issues she was having and that it was bothering her. [REDACTED] didn't want to discuss those issues then, so [REDACTED] told [REDACTED] of some of the issues.
[REDACTED] was asked further about not knowing about issues on the shift. [REDACTED] gave him examples about when the officers pick squads, on the back wall, about that behavior. Ofc. Masiak would make comments about [REDACTED] leaving her firearm in the trunk of her squad. [REDACTED] stated that this comment was made as [REDACTED] was exiting her squad, but she wasn't sure that [REDACTED] heard the comment. The firearm left in the trunk of the squad car happened a couple months prior to this interview. [REDACTED] felt this comment was heard by anyone standing waiting for a squad car. [REDACTED] stated that Ofc. Masiak would keep bringing it up, which is why she brought it up with [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] explained that Ofc. Masiak made another comment about [REDACTED] stating, "Oh, great. We hired another one of those [guys]," [REDACTED] had called out on the radio with some type of traffic stop, Ofc. Masiak then made this comment. [REDACTED] took this comment to be very rude and unprofessional. [REDACTED]. She took Ofc. Masiak's statement to mean a racially-negative comment, and a slam towards him being [REDACTED] added that no one endorsed the comment, nor negated it. She recalls that potentially, [REDACTED]. She recalled this to have happened while [REDACTED] was in training, [REDACTED]. She feels that [REDACTED] may have heard this as well. She reiterated that Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester are together often. She does not recall any supervisor standing nearby, adding it's rare for a supervisor to be outside while squads are being selected. She does recall talking with [REDACTED] about this as they met squad-to-squad. She recalled the content of the conversation being that [REDACTED] told him she didn't like the conversation. She couldn't recall whether [REDACTED] had any comment or reaction based on what she had told him.
[REDACTED] explained that she had only spoke with [REDACTED] about the incidents Ofc. Masiak was a part of and hadn't spoken to any other supervisor about these problems. She added that [REDACTED] did meet with some on nightshift as a group about the conduct. [REDACTED] had them each go through policy as it relates to prohibited behavior. The theme of the meeting was that [REDACTED] was frustrated with the way people were treating each other, related to harassment. He made them read it in front of him as he sat there. [REDACTED] felt this was a very good proactive approach.
[REDACTED] was asked if any harassment was directed towards her or any rumors about her; she stated there were none. She added she kind of, "Sticks to herself." When asked if she had heard anything before, during or after roll-call, about someone picking out a single officer. She stated this happened on the "wall" while waiting for a squad car. [REDACTED] stated that a group of officers, including Ofc. Masiak, were commenting about how [REDACTED]. Ofc. Masiak, according to [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if she had ever heard an officer make an odd comment on the radio and be made fun of. She says that happens once in a while, which is then followed up with an all-car sent by various people about the miss-communication on the radio. She was also asked about the Shift Commander's office and people hanging out in the office. She explained she has seen [REDACTED] are normally in there talking with whoever is on the desk. She stated it depends who is sitting the desk on a particular day. She stated if she was to narrow it down which supervisor they spend the most time with, she stated Lt. Robert J. Korth and [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if she has ever been a victim of any harassment, based on her sex, tactics or policing style. She says nothing has been brought to her attention and she is unaware of any harassment.
[REDACTED] felt that some MDT messages are occasionally inappropriate. She stated she cannot recall details, but recalled Lt. Korth has sent messages that maybe crossed the line a little bit. She did not recall being offended by them. She recalled this would happen when someone did something stupid on the radio. She also pointed out Ofc. Masiak would send inappropriate messages. [REDACTED] felt this would happen once per week or once per shift.
[REDACTED] was asked about the female locker room and if she had heard conversations in a negative manner. She stated most conversations were about kids and dogs, nothing negative about other employees. She stated that [REDACTED] has voiced her concerns of harassment. When asked if [REDACTED] has come to her with specifics, she could only think of generalized statements that she made. [REDACTED] had mentioned she goes on calls as a secondary unit, and Ofc. Masiak is very dismissive and asks her to leave. [REDACTED] understands this to have happened quite often. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] told her that Ofc. Brester would look at [REDACTED] puzzled by how Ofc. Masiak was treating her. [REDACTED] has been on a few calls with [REDACTED] and feels [REDACTED] is confident and can do the job. She doesn't feel they have been on enough calls together, to judge her performance.
[REDACTED] was asked if she was aware of any history, romantic relationship, or something that went sour with Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Dantoin. She explained she knew there was tension prior to Ofc. Dantoin even getting hired with the Green Bay Police Department. [REDACTED] also stated that Ofc. Dantoin told her that she takes time off of work, as she would rather be living her life and using her time. [REDACTED] said that Ofc. Dantoin said that she takes off as often as possible, due to working in Bravo? District and how she is treated while working the Bravo? District.
[REDACTED] has told [REDACTED] he doesn't care to work with Ofc. Masiak, [REDACTED]. She vaguely remembers hearing Ofc. Masiak make a comment about [REDACTED] on the radio, but she was unable to remember specifics, due to the time that has passed. When asked if Ofc. Masiak has harassed other co-workers, or was heard saying something about someone else, [REDACTED] commented that it was nothing out of the norm. She has never heard any supervisor make any derogatory comments towards an ethnic group, nor any minority.
[REDACTED] was asked for her opinion on if there was one officer on the nightshift that is the cause of, or leader of, the grief on the nightshift, and she stated that person would be Ofc. Masiak due to the ways he talks and treats people, especially behind their back. She felt that due to the rumor mill, Lt. Korth is the only supervisor who supports Ofc. Masiak and this kind of behavior. She stated Lt. Korth has always been professional around her.
[REDACTED] was asked if she had been contacted by anyone advising her about this investigation. [REDACTED] stated that she received a text from [REDACTED] asking her if she knew what was going on. She said that the text was about a supervisor and officer being suspended. [REDACTED] told her that she wasn't sure who it was, but once [REDACTED] returned to work, she was made aware that it involved Ofc. Masiak and Lt. Korth. [REDACTED] also said that [REDACTED] called her and asked her if she was ever a victim of this type of activity.
[REDACTED] was asked to outline instances where [REDACTED] may have confided to her. She said that Ofc. Dantoin was frustrated on calls and being called out by Ofc. Masiak for not making an arrest. Ofc. Dantoin said that there was a death scene call where Ofc. Masiak showed up and told her to leave. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] told her of an incident that [REDACTED]. She said that [REDACTED] made contact, [REDACTED] was there, so [REDACTED] asked where she was needed so she took [REDACTED] perimeter for the time being. Ofc. Masiak arrived on scene and told [REDACTED] that it was her sector so she needed to handle the call. [REDACTED] also talked about another call where [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] responded to a disturbance, which resulted in officers kicking in a door, and Ofc. Masiak shoves Ofc. Dantoin out of the way.
[REDACTED] was asked if she felt the issues on the nightshift were legitimate and what could be done to address the issues. [REDACTED]. She added that she has spoken with [REDACTED] about this, and he said that he was also frustrated by this activity. [REDACTED] said that he was going to talk with Ofc. Masiak about his behavior.
[REDACTED] was asked if [REDACTED] had talked to other supervisors about these issues. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] did express her displeasure with the lack of action taken and the behaviors not changing. She said when [REDACTED] told [REDACTED] about the incidents and lack of action, he seemed surprised and upset that nothing was being done. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] had talked to [REDACTED] on several occasions about the behaviors, but nothing had changed.
[REDACTED] was reminded that the information and questions from the interview need to be kept confidential and that she should contact the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) if she remembered any additional information or if she became aware of any new information.
Interview with [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] was interviewed on December 22, 2016 by the Professional Standards Division (LOL!). [REDACTED] was told that he was as a witness, and possibly a victim, of the harassment and bullying that was occurring on the nightshift. He was asked if he knew of any officers on the nightshift who were harassed, bullied, or picked on, and the first officer that he noted was Officer [REDACTED] who he said was being picked on by Lt. Robert J. Korth. He said that Lt. Korth coined a nickname for [REDACTED] like [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] or [REDACTED]. He said that Lt. Korth told him that the nickname meant that the [REDACTED] and the [REDACTED] and he heard of this nickname in late summer or early fall of 2016.
[REDACTED] said that shortly after he heard of the nickname for [REDACTED] from Lt. Korth, that [REDACTED] asked to meet up with him. He said that [REDACTED] said that he had heard the nickname and he absolutely did not like the nickname and doesn't want to be called the nickname and [REDACTED] didn't know how to go about having the nickname stopped. [REDACTED] said that he asked [REDACTED] if he had told Lt. Korth that he didn't want to be called that nickname, and [REDACTED] said that telling Lt. Korth would only make it worse and having [REDACTED] say something to Lt. Korth would also make it worse. [REDACTED] said that he saw Lt. Korth in the Shift Commander's office a couple days later and told him that he cannot call [REDACTED] that nickname as [REDACTED] doesn't like it. [REDACTED] said that he was not sure what Lt. Korth said in response before Lt. Korth walked out of the office, [REDACTED] and then Lt. Korth avoided him for about a week. [REDACTED] said that he thought that Lt. Korth hadn't called [REDACTED] that nickname after that conversation.
[REDACTED] said next that Ofc. Masiak sent out a message about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and the message was, "Go figure, they will jump calls when they don't have to do paperwork." He said that he called Ofc. Masiak in to the Shift Commander's office and believes that [REDACTED] spoke with Ofc. Masiak about the message. He also thought that [REDACTED] wanted to write Ofc. Masiak up for sending the message, but believed that there was no write up because [REDACTED] asked [REDACTED] not to do the write up. [REDACTED] did not recall any other issues with Ofc. Masiak making comments or sending messages.
[REDACTED] thought that he and [REDACTED] brought [REDACTED] in to the private meeting room off the Shift Commander's office about [REDACTED] making a comment about [REDACTED]. He thought the comment was made in roll-call, but he wasn't sure what the comment was. He was also aware of some comment that [REDACTED] made in the Shift Commander's office in front of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He said that he had spoken to [REDACTED] about that incident.
[REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth used to take pictures and videos of him and he didn't know why Lt. Korth did that. He said that Lt. Korth would come up behind him while he was in the Shift Commander's office making maps or reading reports and make comments like, "Look at the size of this guy, he's huge," or "Holy f*ck, he's huge." [REDACTED] said that most of the time he would just pass this off, and sometimes he would say, "There's something wrong with you," or "Rob, really?"
[REDACTED] next that that a couple months ago, he was in the Shift Commander's office and saw Lt. Korth was walking around in the office like a monkey and he didn't know why Lt. Korth was walking like that. He said that later he heard that Lt. Korth was making fun of [REDACTED], but couldn't say where he had heard this. He did say that Lt. Korth was not making any comments or sounds at the time, and he didn't think anyone else was in the office at the time.
[REDACTED] said that when Lt. Korth is assigned to the Shift Commander's desk that Lt. Korth always plays music loud and watches fishing or hunting videos. He said that other officers commonly hang around in the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Korth is assigned to the desk and he thought that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] where two of the main officers and [REDACTED] would hang out in the office, too. [REDACTED].
As work required supervisor work, [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would refuse to send out Nixle notices. He recalled one incident in particular where he asked Lt. Korth to send out a Nixle notice about a particular call and Lt. Korth said that he wouldn't do a Nixle notice. Lt. Korth would call other supervisors, "Company man," and tell supervisors to relax. He remembered specifically that Lt. Korth called [REDACTED] a, "Company man," and told [REDACTED] he was, "[An] eight or nine on a ten scale of needing to relax," while they were in the locker room. [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth calls him [REDACTED], as in [REDACTED], but this name does not bother him. Additionally, [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth talks in a weird voice occasionally, that he could only describe as a little-kid voice, and that that Ofc. Masiak would talk in that same voice.
[REDACTED] for her handling of an open door call without backup. He said that he heard the call on the radio and spoke with her the next night on how this was a serious officer safety issue. He said that he was also notified by the Shift Commander, who was probably Lt. Korth, about this call, but didn't think that the notification influenced him on how to handle the performance evaluation. He said that [REDACTED] but she didn't offer any other complaints or comments on the situation.
[REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] would obviously be an officer who would be getting picked on, or bullied by, Ofc. Masiak and obviously by Lt. Korth. He didn't think [REDACTED] was involved even though [REDACTED] had made a comment about [REDACTED] in the past. He said that he spoke with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] told him that he had tried to help [REDACTED] with things and [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] recalled one incident this last fall where the Brown County Sheriff's Department requested city officers for a perimeter near the edge of the city for a home invasion call that happened in Bellevue. He said that a couple city squads went, and Lt. Korth also went, and they were set up somewhere near Debra Lane and Abrams Street. During the call, he said that a cellphone was found in a roadway in the city and that the county deputies were not sure if they were going to collect the phone. He said that Lt. Korth talked to the lieutenant from the County, and it may have been in front of other officers, and Lt. Korth commented that they didn't know how to handle the call. Later that night, the County supervisor asked to meet up with Lt. Korth to talk about the incident, and Lt. Korth said that he wouldn't meet up with the supervisor because he was too busy. [REDACTED] said that he knew for a fact that Lt. Korth was not busy and [REDACTED] and that Lt. Korth had also told him that he thought the County guys, "Were his friends."
[REDACTED] was asked to sum up a description of Lt. Korth in one word and the word he used was [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would send out inappropriate MDT messages that a supervisor should not be sending. He could not give specific examples of the messages that were sent. He did say that he never made any mention to Lt. Korth about these messages. [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would send out MDT messages bi-weekly that would make you wonder why the message was sent out. He said the messages served no purpose and would not necessarily be harassing, but would be saying that some call wasn't handled the way he would have done it. He said Lt. Korth's messages would be more personal attacks on people than on their work performance.
Interview with [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] was interviewed on December 27, 2016. It was believed during the course of the investigation that he was a potential victim and/or witness of bullying or harassment on the nightshift. [REDACTED]. After completing his training he was assigned to the nightshift on [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] appeared reluctant and hesitant to be interviewed. [REDACTED]. He did say that he would cooperate with the investigation and answer all questions. [REDACTED]. Because of this, he knew that is why he was being called in to answer questions.
[REDACTED] said that upon transferring to the nightshift, it was obvious that Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin and Ofc. R. Casey Masiak had a bad relationship from the very first day that he came to the nightshift. [REDACTED] said that he immediately started having problems with Ofc. Masiak and these problems were of a serious nature where [REDACTED] thought that it would, "Lead to his detriment." [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] but he could not believe how quickly Ofc. Masiak, "Got under his skin." [REDACTED] stated he just wanted to do his job on nightshift and just find out where he fit in with the rest of the groups. A lot of the time he just took the harassment and bullying that was directed at him, because he did not want to make waves.
[REDACTED] stated his first recollection of having problems with Ofc. Masiak was on a night where he was working [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said that on that night he could not remember exactly what Ofc. Masiak had said to him over the radio, but he knew it was some sort of, "Smart aleck," comment to him and [REDACTED] just let it slide.
[REDACTED] said the next day the shift had just left roll-call and they were getting ready to get into their squad cars and were standing against the wall waiting for squad cars to come in. He said it was at that time that Ofc. Masiak said to him, "Ha, [REDACTED] you gonna give me lip again over the radio?" [REDACTED] said that this comment really got under skin, because he relayed this incident as if his kids would give him lip at home and that this would not be something that one officer should be saying to another officer. [REDACTED] said that he took a deep breath and he just did not say anything and he just stood there [REDACTED] and he wanted as little friction as possible [REDACTED] and he felt like he was walking on eggshells to begin with.
[REDACTED] said that when Ofc. Masiak had made this comment it was in front of the entire shift and he believes there were approximatelv 14-15 police officers standing by. He remembered that almost everybody was laughing and chuckling about the way that Ofc. Masiak had addressed him. [REDACTED] said that he did not say anything and he just got into his car and went to work.
[REDACTED] said that Ofc. Kurt D. Brester and Ofc. Masiak were, "A pair." Officer [REDACTED] and stated that [REDACTED] that Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak were always going on calls together and [REDACTED]. The stated that they would jump calls and [REDACTED].
He said when it came to [REDACTED] being put into the mix, that there was a lot of discussion going on between Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak about her tactics. There was also a lot of discussion about her sex life. [REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED]. He felt that Ofc. Masiak thought that he was interfering with that relationship, because [REDACTED] stated that he started to become friends with Ofc. Brester. [REDACTED] said he just kind of laughed about it [REDACTED]. He thought that maybe this was the reason why Ofc. Masiak had been targeting him.
[REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED] he is not exactly sure of what the incident was, but there was a call that [REDACTED] had taken in [REDACTED] District, but he does not know what happened. After the call, he knew that [REDACTED] had some words with some of the officers on nightshift and this elevated itself to the level where [REDACTED] had spoken with Ofc. Brester. [REDACTED] was unsure if Ofc. Masiak had been spoken to aswell. [REDACTED] stated that after this incident, he felt that Ofc. Brester was possibly trying to distance himself from Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if he could identify how many incidents he thought had happened where Ofc. Masiak was bullying or harassing him while they were at work. [REDACTED] stated, "There were a lot of minor ones," and that he cannot remember the specific details of most of them. He said that a lot of times he would be on a call with Ofc. Masiak, and Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED] stated that he felt very uncomfortable around Ofc. Masiak, because of his attitude and said Ofc. Masiak was just the type of person that he would rather not, "Associate himself with."
[REDACTED] stated that if he had personal problems with other officers he would not routinely talk about those officers behind their back. He said that Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Brester frequently talked about other officers and [REDACTED] started to wonder to himself if they were actually talking behind his back as well.
[REDACTED] stated that there was never a time where he felt that Ofc. Masiak had made any derogatory remarks towards him because of his race, or made any comments about any other races while in his presence.
[REDACTED]. He said at one point he was sitting in the roll-call room at a table and he could hear somebody on the outside from the nightshift say the phrase, "Oh f*ck Commander [REDACTED]." He did not know who might have said the comment. [REDACTED] described the day that he had his [REDACTED] performance evaluation given to him by nightshift Lt. Steven Mahoney. He said at that time, Lt. Mahoney had made the comment to him that one of the nightshift officers had referred to [REDACTED]. He stated that the next day he was called in by [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and he stated that they both, "Ripped into him about how he violated the department's social media policy." He was told that he was making the police department look bad because he referenced another officer calling him [REDACTED]. He said that he deleted his Facebook posting after that.
At the end of this performance evaluation [REDACTED] stated that he probably over-reacted in the way that he spoke with [REDACTED]. He was upset because [REDACTED] then made the comment of how he needed to, "Try harder to fit in," referring to working with his fellow officers on nightshift. [REDACTED] said he was very upset with this comment, because he did not think it was necessary for anybody to, "Have to fit in," just to be successful at a police department. He said he works very hard. [REDACTED] said if, "Their brand of fitting in, is sitting around jaw jacking and just being nasty to each other," than that's not what he wants to take part in.
[REDACTED] and [REDACTED] had started to become closer friends and said they would frequently meet up on shift and vent for some of the same reasons. He said that both he and [REDACTED] felt like neither one of them had a role when they were in their district, because Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Brester were constantly out there clearing them from calls. Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak were, "Kinda doing their own thing out there." He said that he and [REDACTED] talked an awful lot about this stuff, because they both felt likethey were potential victims of it.
On one particular night, [REDACTED] had gotten fed up and she had gone to [REDACTED] about these issues. She explained the issues to [REDACTED] and told him that [REDACTED] felt the same way that she did. [REDACTED] said that he kind of got caught by surprise by [REDACTED] taking this issue to [REDACTED]. She had not told him that she was going to do this. [REDACTED] said he is used to handling issues himself, and did not want to get caught in the middle of anything. He remembers sending out a MDT message to Ofc. Masiak, basically telling Ofc. Masiak that whatever happens reference to him and [REDACTED] that he should just keep [REDACTED] out of it.
[REDACTED] stated that he later followed up with the MDT message to Ofc. Masiak and basically told him in person that he and Ofc. Brester were, "Assholes." Ofc. Masiak had responded back with an MDT message something to the effect of, "Well, need to know what the problem is to fix it."
[REDACTED] stated that the face-to-face conversation he had with Ofc. Masiak would have been [REDACTED] and Ofc. Brester was there at the time. When he arrived he made the comment to both of them that they needed to, "Clear the air." [REDACTED] said the meeting was not confrontational and about how [REDACTED] and he referred to both Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak, saying that they are both hard to work with. [REDACTED] said that Ofc. Masiak was, "Actually pretty cool about it," and said from [REDACTED] felt like the issue between he and Ofc. Masiak had gotten a whole lot better.
Ofc. Masiak started to trust [REDACTED] a little bit more and they stopped having issues, but unfortunately that was not the case with [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said he started seeing more and more issues between Ofc. Masiak and and he thought these issues were, "Just kind of suffocating at times."
[REDACTED]. He said a lot of the "snarky comments" that happened came from the officers, but they could have also been coming from one or two lieutenants as well.
He described Lt. Robert J. Korth's supervisory style [REDACTED]. He said the lieutenants on nights have known there is a problem with the shift for over a year. [REDACTED] stated that it was, "So egregious and mind blowing," that at no point did they (lieutenants) stop and just say to the entire shift, "Stop doing what you're doing." He said that he felt [REDACTED].
When asked to give examples to show the lack of supervision on nightshift, [REDACTED] said that there was, "Small mundane things, you know that happen when a lot of guys sit around." This would have been in the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Korth was working. [REDACTED] said that the officers that were usually in there were [REDACTED].
These officers usually congregated in the Shift Commander's office after 4 a.m. when the calls for service had quieted down. He said that you could walk in the office to hand in your paperwork and he would see all the officers. He said they were laughing and joking at times, and would be watching "crash videos" on the computer screens.
[REDACTED] explained another incident where he said it was the first time where he really started to, "Become angry," about some of the things that were happening on the nightshift. He said that nightshift [REDACTED] a female officer, was not working on this particular evening. [REDACTED] stated that he does not believe that the officers on nights are sexist, but stated that sometimes some of the things the officers say are focused towards female officers and that when they say these things it makes it uncomfortable for him, [REDACTED] he knows the importance of bringing everybody on a shift together.
He said that one specific night a comment was made about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] sleeping together. He stated this occurred after roll-call when the nightshift was standing outside on the wall of headquarters waiting for squads from the afternoon shift to arrive. At first [REDACTED] stated that he did not know who made the comment and referred to the comment of being something to the effect of, "[REDACTED] ejaculating on [REDACTED] face and then she went home and she kissed her [REDACTED] with that same face." [REDACTED] stated that he was, "Blown away," and could not believe that comment had just said.
[REDACTED] was reluctant to say who had actually uttered this comment. When asked if it was Ofc. Masiak, he stated that Ofc. Masiak was part of the conversation along with Ofc. Pheuchi M. Xiong and Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt; also, [REDACTED] had been standing there while they were making fun of them. [REDACTED] stated that those four officers pretty much always stand together, while other officers stand in different locations while waiting for squads.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had to guess who he thought made that comment and immediately responded, "Ofc. Eickholt." [REDACTED] stated that Ofc. Eickholt directed the comment at [REDACTED] in front of the entire shift. [REDACTED] and the response of all the other officers standing there started laughing and most of them thought that it was, "The funniest thing ever." [REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED] just kind of put his head down because it was obvious that he was embarrassed about the comment.
[REDACTED] stated that he was not sure if Ofc. Eickholt had made the first comment, "[REDACTED] ejaculates on her face," or if Ofc. Eickholt had made the second comment of, "And she goes home and kisses her [REDACTED] with that face." He said that this incident probably would have happened in the spring of 2016 because he remembers that all ofthe officers were wearing short-sleeved uniform shirts at the time.
[REDACTED] stated he does not know if anyone spoke with [REDACTED] about this, but he does know that she was not working that night and was not there. He stated that he believes that two other female officers, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were there and heard this conversation going on.
[REDACTED] was asked questions about conversations that would take place in the men's locker room. He stated that there were times where [REDACTED] and the relationships that she had in the past were spoken about by nightshift officers with one of those relationships being between her and [REDACTED] with a lot of guys making comments about that. When he was asked to define "everybody," he said that it was the same clique of guys and named off Ofc. Xiong, Ofc. Eickholt, Ofc. Brester, and Ofc. Masiak. When asked who would initiate most of these conversations in the locker room amongst the officers, [REDACTED] responded, "Well, it's always Ofc. Masiak who starts it." He said that if it was a conversation about [REDACTED] you could guarantee that it was a good chance that Ofc. Masiak had started it and there would also be a good chance that Ofc. Eickholt would be there and be following up on it.
[REDACTED] stated these conversations about Ofc. Dantoin? seemed to happen about every day or every other day and it did not matter whether she was working or not. He stated that the guys would, "Talk crap about her," when she would take days off or she would call in. He said that most officers would be resentful about this because then they would be moved out of their district and put into the district that she was supposed to have been working in. He said it didn't matter if she was working or not, they would talk crap about her taking days off of work when she was gone. They would also talk about Ofc. Dantoin? when she was there. [REDACTED] said that they would also critique her tactics and her style of policing, or how she did not do something right on a call.
[REDACTED] stated that it was just mind blowing for him, because the officers criticized her when she was gone and when she was at work, and it was like, "Did they want her here or didn't they want her here?"
He said that the harassment towards Ofc. Dantoin? was not just in the locker room, but it continued out into the roll-call room. He stated that he could not really remember specific incidents, but somebody would usually make a comment in the roll-call room and then everybody else would follow up by laughing about what was just said. He referred to the officers as, "Giggling sheep sometimes." When asked who would usually make these comments in roll-call, [REDACTED] immediately responded by saying, "Officer Masiak." He said these comments in the roll-call room would happen at least every other day or at least once a week.
[REDACTED] was asked if he knew specifically what the problem was between Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Dantoin? and why the two appeared to not get along. [REDACTED] stated that he felt that Ofc. Masiak was obsessed with making Ofc. Dantoin's? life difficult. He stated, "The guy just won't leave her alone." [REDACTED] commented that he knew that Ofc. Masiak had been, "Talked to," on a number of occasions about his conduct towards Ofc. Dantoin?.
[REDACTED] said that Ofc. Dantoin? had told him that she confronted Ofc. Masiak on several occasions to ask him, "What his problem was." [REDACTED] said he could not recall the specific details of each one of those encounters, but he knew that it had happened. He thought that after one of those meetings that Ofc. Dantoin? started to feel better about the situation, because she thought that they had a good conversation and it was fruitful, trying to improve the relationship between them. [REDACTED] said that he had met up numerous times to discuss the way that Ofc. Masiak had been treating her. [REDACTED] stated that he could remember at least two times where he believed that Ofc. Dantoin? was so upset that she was in tears. She was telling him about the things that Ofc. Masiak said and done to her while they were on calls. [REDACTED] stated that the conversation between the two of them was to the point where he was trying to encourage her to take this to a higher level, or to another supervisor. He said that at the time, there were no captains on the shift and that they had been removed.
[REDACTED] described one of the incidents that Ofc. Dantoin? had told him about where she had been working on a call in [REDACTED] District. Ofc. Masiak had shown up on the call and started to critique her and made comments to her about the way she had handled the call. This had been done in front of other officers including Ofc. Brester. [REDACTED] said that most ofthe time he had conversations with [REDACTED], she really did not go into a lot of specifics, because she was so upset. He said that they met and had conversations, "Probably a dozen times, if not more than that."
When asked if he thought Ofc. Dantoin? had been the victim of harassment on nightshift, [REDACTED] responded, "Oh, there's no doubt about that." He said that was the easiest answer he could give during this interview.
When asked if he believed he was the victim of harassment, he stated that he probably was in the past, but over the last six months he felt that things had gotten better for him on the shift.
When asked if he had to name the officers who he felt were the ones delivering most of the harassment directed at him, he stated that it was, "The group of four." He named Ofc. Masiak, Ofc. Xiong, Ofc. Eickholt, and to some degree, Ofc. Brester.
[REDACTED] stated he recalled another incident involving [REDACTED] where it was a series of "cluster calls" going on at the time and [REDACTED] was on the call of [REDACTED] and officers were responding to help me and that [REDACTED] ended up clearing the call that she was on and taking a call approximately two blocks from where he was at. He stated that at some point Ofc. Masiak had showed up on her call and made a bunch of comments to her, but he did not know what they were. He stated that [REDACTED] was so upset about this that he believed that she had gone directly to [REDACTED] and talked to him about it.
[REDACTED] believed [REDACTED] addressed the issue with Ofc. Masiak, because the next day while in roll-call he heard a bunch of other officers commenting about how [REDACTED] had, "Gone straight to the boss," or something to that effect. [REDACTED] thinks [REDACTED] also talked to Ofc. Brester about it, because afterwards Ofc. Brester had made the comment to him saying, "Yeah, that was kind of my wakeup call."
[REDACTED] was asked if he recalled any incidents involving [REDACTED] where she was dismissed by Ofc. Masiak, or told to go back in service by him, when he jumped her calls. [REDACTED] stated, "Oh yeah, that happened to me too as well." [REDACTED] stated that his was just another incident of Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Brester constantly jumping calls together [REDACTED] said that this was taken as a slap in the face. He said all officers want to go on calls, but Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak would constantly be jumping calls and dismissing other officers from these calls. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] recalled an additional incident that [REDACTED] shared with him where she was on a call with Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] could not recall all of the details, but he said something to the effect of it was a call where the door needed to be kicked in. He said the officers needed to make entry into a home, and a comment was made directed at [REDACTED] of, "You can't make it," or, "You can't kick it in." He stated that a similar comment of, "You're small and girly, get the hell out of the way," was said directed at [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] did not recall who had made the comment to [REDACTED] at the time, but he knew that she was really, "Pissed about it."
[REDACTED] said his interpretation of the conversation with [REDACTED] was that he did not think she was physically pushed or shoved aside and it was more that she was dismissed and, "Made to feel like, you go stand over there," type of response.
[REDACTED] was asked to comment on [REDACTED] tactics and style of policing. He said [REDACTED] and he could not understand why Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak had so many issues with her. [REDACTED] said, from his perspective, he never observed any tactical or policing problems involving [REDACTED]. He did comment [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that he had no issues, "Whatsoever," with her tactics and he thought that he and [REDACTED] worked well together. He said they had the same style of policing where they're not always looking to, "Jam people up."
[REDACTED] was asked if he recalled an incident in reference to Ofc. Dantoin? missing a set of handcuffs that she never got returned back to her. [REDACTED] stated that he did not know who had Ofc. Dantoin's? handcuffs. He said that he recalled Ofc. Dantoin? was, "Pissed," that she did not get her cuffs back. He knows that she asked a couple of officers if they knew who had her handcuffs, but everybody told her that they did not know where her cuffs were. [REDACTED] stated that he thought the situtation was kind of dumb, because there are only a few people that actually involved in this incident and might have had the handcuffs.
[REDACTED] recalled another incident that happened [REDACTED]. He said that he and [REDACTED] got into a fight with a suspect and that he believes that [REDACTED] was also involved in this incident. He stated that at that time [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED] which [REDACTED] did not believe was an intentional act because the suspect was really drunk and was not listening to the officer's commands.
[REDACTED] stated that on the next day when he was standing in the Shift Commander's office, he heard Ofc. Masiak making comments about [REDACTED] about the incident. Ofc. Masiak made a comment to other officers something to the effect of, "How the f*ck do you end up on your back?" [REDACTED] thought to himself that this was a fight that [REDACTED] was in and how could somebody else be criticizing her actions when she had been in a fight, and especially comments coming from Ofc. Masiak.
[REDACTED] stated that he had gone into the Shift Commander's office at the time of this conversation to turn in some paperwork. He said that Lt. Korth was the Shift Commander at the time and was the one that Ofc. Masiak was directing the comments to. [REDACTED] stated that Lt. Korth did not have a response at the time and did not say anything.
[REDACTED] was asked if he could think of anybody else on the nightshift that had been the victim of harassment. He replied that he tought [REDACTED] was, but not to the degree that [REDACTED] had been. He contributed this to [REDACTED] working in District [REDACTED] and working with some, "Really good cops." [REDACTED] named [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] as officers that [REDACTED] works with. He stated that he would never hear any comments or see attitudes come from these officers directed at [REDACTED]. He has heard other officers comment and make snarky remarks directed at her about being a, "Terrible cop."
[REDACTED] stated that one of the things that he found was very interesting was that Officer [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] appear to be constantly, "Ragged-on," by other officers. He said that it was interesting that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] are never made fun of or picked-on.
[REDACTED] stated that if he had to single out one or two officers who do the majority of the snarky comments and sexist comments in roll-call, in the locker room, or standing on the wall waiting for squad cars, that it would have to be Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Eickholt. He stated that Ofc. Eickholt is kind of the, "Ring leader of the giggle fest." He stated that if he had to single out one supervisor that kind of allowed this culture to happen or participated in it, he said it was, "Lt. Korth definitely." [REDACTED] stated that he is very uncomfortable on how close Lt. Korth is to a lot of the guys. [REDACTED].
Follow up questions were asked of [REDACTED] and what his opinion was of the supervision on nightshift. [REDACTED]. He said that there is not really one main boss on this shift.
[REDACTED]. He stated a lot of the officers are starting to be worried, because of this investigation, because in the past they have never had to worry about anything.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 27, 2016, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators met with [REDACTED] in the conference room. [REDACTED] was told that she was not the subject in this investigation and was also told of the reason for the interview.
She explained that she worked for the evening shift, [REDACTED], and on her Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays of her work week and was assigned to the [REDACTED] District. Telestaff confirmed she worked the evening shift from [REDACTED] where she now works on the [REDACTED] shift patrol. She was reminded to keep our interview/discussion in confidence and not to discuss it with anyone. Also covered was the importance of cooperating with internal investigations and answering questions truthfully and honestly.
[REDACTED] explained she was aware of harassment on the nightshift, and that Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin was the victim of this. She stated she only knew of one incident that she was witness to. She said that the incident was on a night when [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were in [REDACTED] when Ofc. R. Casey Masiak sent an all-car message regarding [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and they would only do that as they get out of paperwork being involved. [REDACTED] was working that evening when the message was sent out.
She recalled [REDACTED] calling out with a vehicle that wasn't stopping [REDACTED] so [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] advised via the radio that they were close. They arrived and stood by, as [REDACTED] was asking for another unit, which caused dispatch to send Ofc. Masiak. Shortly after that dispatch, Ofc. Masiak sent out the all-car message.
[REDACTED] stated she had spoken with [REDACTED] privately about ongoing harassment from Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] had been told that Ofc. Masiak has told her to leave on calls that they were both dispatched to.
Specifically, [REDACTED] stated that there was a call where [REDACTED] and entry was going to be forced to make contact. As this was occurring, Ofc. Masiak ran into the scene, pushing Ofc. Dantoin aside so he could help [REDACTED] make entry. She explained that Ofc. Dantoin had told her that she went to [REDACTED] once in an attempt to get the harassment by Ofc. Masiak under control. She said that [REDACTED] told her that [REDACTED] would say things were getting done.
[REDACTED] explained she was never a victim of harassment, but that she feels, "Uncomfortable," around Ofc. Masiak. She specifically explained a call in the area of [REDACTED], where Ofc. Masiak made a comment which upset someone they were dealing with on a call. She couldn't recall a date or address, but that it was a noise complaint, and the call was about wrapped up, when a female, who was present on the call was on the phone [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] recalls a comment made by Ofc. Masiak that insulted [REDACTED] making the situation worse. It was a cocky and unnecessary comment.
When asked if she had to guess if there was any supervisors that harass or bully officers, she stated she had heard things about Lt. Korth. She stated she has never seen anything he has done specifically, but that he likes to joke around, "A lot." She stated he is more laid back than a supervisor should be. [REDACTED] was basing this on things [REDACTED] has told her.
[REDACTED] stated she never heard anything racist from the nightshift, along the wall, or from others.
She felt the investigation would benefit if we spoke to other district [REDACTED] evening-shifters, [REDACTED].
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 28, 2016, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators [REDACTED] asking if he could come and speak to investigators. [REDACTED] had remembered some information that he wanted to add, from his prior interview. He was advised to meet with Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators at the police department in the Professional Standards (LOL!) office.
On December 28, 2016, [REDACTED] arrived at the Professional Standards (LOL!) office, [REDACTED]. He stated that he wished to speak about a further incident that he recalled after being interviewed previously.
[REDACTED] stated that the incident he wanted to tell use about happened approximately [REDACTED]. He stated it was still cold outside and be believed that it may have been October of 2016, right before deer hunting season opened.
The stated that he was in Charlie District on a disturbance call and at that time Ofc. Paul Spoerl, Lt. Robert J. Korth, and another unknown officer were standing outside by a squad car which he believed was in the location of Washington Street. He stated at that time somebody made the comment of, "Have you seen Korth's impression of [REDACTED]?" [REDACTED] stated that after that statement was made, Lt. Korth stuck his stomach out and pulled his chest in and turned his toes out like a pigeon and started walking up and down the sidewalk imitating the way [REDACTED] walked. [REDACTED] said this was done in front of other officers and it was done in public in front of the businesses on Washington Street.
[REDACTED] was asked numerous times who the unknown officer that was standing in the group was and he stated that he couldn't recall or couldn't remember numerous times. A copy of the roster was obtained and each officer was called off to help refresh his recollection of the event and [REDACTED] believed that Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt was the officer who was also standing witnessing this event.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 28, 2016, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators interviewed [REDACTED] as a potential witness officer in this internal investigation.
[REDACTED] was questioned in regards to being a potential witness in any sort of bullying or harassment directed at [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] and/or other members on the nightshift. It was believed that me might have pertinent information that would aid this investigation.
[REDACTED] stated that he had heard third-hand information about an ongoing investigation involving [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He stated that a lot of people on nightshift have been talking about it and he stated that the core group of people that he hangs out with is [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that he bad been [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and he stated that he had seen, "Minor things," involving [REDACTED] handling of some of these calls. He stated one incident where he personally saw a possible Miranda issue where she was talking to a potential subject, but he has never seen any issues in regards to her tactics. He stated that he has never observed any issues in regards to [REDACTED] tactics. [REDACTED] cited a couple of incidents where he thought that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was also questioned whether he had witnessed inappropriate messages being sent out about any nightshift officers and he stated that he was 100 percent sure that he had seen messages that, "Cross the line," in regards to both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He stated that if [REDACTED] had seen the messages, she definitely would not have wanted those messages sent out. He stated that Lt. Robert J. Korth, "Sends out a fair amount of those messages," and some are definitely inappropriate. He stated that he also seen messages sent out about [REDACTED] and that those are usually sent from Lt. Korth. [REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED] had personally told him that he does not approve of Lt. Korth's style of supervision. [REDACTED] stated that he knows that Ofc. R. Casey Masiak sends out messages to other officers in regards to [REDACTED] but he does not remember any messages that Ofc. Masiak sent out in regards to [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that there are times where officers hang out in the Shift Commander's office [REDACTED]. He said a lot of guys in District Charlie? hang out in the Shift Commander's office with Lt. Korth. He also said that officers also hang out with [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] when they are acting Shift Commanders. He stated that other officers on nightshift have had issues in reference to [REDACTED]. Specifically, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and he believed that these guys might have possibly gone to supervisors in reference the way [REDACTED] has handled himself on calls. He stated that be believed [REDACTED] had said something to [REDACTED] at one point reference [REDACTED] communication citing a specific disturbance that happened at the Oval Office, but he did not have any more particulars other than that.
In reference to being a witness to any locker room banter or sexist comments by officers, [REDACTED] stated that, because [REDACTED] and that he had no immediate knowledge of any derogatory comments about nightshift officers, specifically female officers.
[REDACTED] stated that the did have knowledge about Lt. Korth mocking the way [REDACTED] walked and the way he carried himself. He stated there was an incident where Lt. Korth was in the Shift Commander's officer and [REDACTED] walked by and Lt. Korth stood up and mimicked [REDACTED] walk, while [REDACTED] was in the office.
[REDACTED] state that he was told that this investigation was focusing on Lt. Korth mocking [REDACTED] and the way he walked, but he could not remember who told him. He stated that [REDACTED] had addressed the shifts and stated that there was a racial component in this investigation. He also believes that he had a conversation with [REDACTED] at least one week ago reference that the investigation was focusing on Lt. Korth mocking other officers.
When asked who be believes does the most mocking or ripping on of other officers on the nightshift, he stated that it was Lt. Korth and Ofc. Masiak. [REDACTED] and admitted that he is not privy to everything that has been going on.
He stated that he has spoken with [REDACTED] of Lt. Korth and [REDACTED] has been worried. He said that [REDACTED] said there have been performance issues in the past with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] felt that nothing was being addressed. [REDACTED] also spoke with [REDACTED] who had the exact same opinion that [REDACTED] had. [REDACTED] stated that he has heard of nicknames such as [REDACTED] from Lt. Korth about other officers and feels they are not appropriate. He stated that he would not like it if it was done to him behind his back.
He stated that [REDACTED] had addressed the shift and told the shift that they were being called up in reference this investigation because management had not addressed the issues, and that they should be honest and tell the investigators what is going on and, "Take your licks."
When asked if he had seen a photo posted on the back of Ofc. Dantoin's chair by Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson, [REDACTED] stated that he had and he had a copy of it in his text messages. He produced his personal phone and pulled up the text message which showed a picture of Ofc. Dantoin with the caption of "I Can't Work" attached to her photo and the photo was attached to the back of her work chair. [REDACTED] which is accessible to the public and other officers. From this text message, it was determined that it had been sent by Ofc. Knutson to Lt. Korth,, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED].
Interview with [REDACTED]
On December 28, 2016, at approximately 2107 hours, [REDACTED] as interviewed, about any potential incidents that he might have witnessed in reference to harassment and/or bullying on the nightshift.
[REDACTED]. He stated that [REDACTED] since she has worked here and he has no issues with her tactics or the way that she polices. He stated that [REDACTED] from his experiences, has some decision making issues that he frequently has asked him asks questions about. [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] stated that his opinion is that there really is not an issue with harassment on nightshift that he has been a witness to. [REDACTED]
[REDACTED ]did state that if there was one officer that appears to be picked on the most that it would be [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] described incidents that he recalled reference sarcasm over the radio that was not called for and that was directed at [REDACTED]. He remembered one incident where [REDACTED] and stated that is stressful enough and [REDACTED]. She had inadvertently given the wrong directions of [REDACTED] and had gotten them mixed up after she had given the directions. [REDACTED] and an unknown officer got on the radio and corrected her by stating something in the effect of, "You know [REDACTED] only goes north and south." [REDACTED] stated that this comment was uncalled for, but this is the type of sarcasm and harassment that he has seen directed at [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that he has seen sarcastic MDT messages sent out reference [REDACTED] in the past. He has also seen messages in reference other officers and stated that when he first started he was the recipient of these type of MDT messages so he did not see that as too big of a deal.
[REDACTED] stated he remembered another call where [REDACTED] was picked on. He stated that [REDACTED] and that she had made a traffic stop and had put a spotlight on the car, because it was at night and she had done this as she was trained to illuminate the car. [REDACTED] stated that Officer Masiak had put himself on the call and had physically positioned himself between her car and the suspect car where [REDACTED] spotlight was now illuminating him. [REDACTED] stated that Officer Masiak started to ridicule her for having the light on even though he was the one that had put himself in the bad position. [REDACTED] stated that at the time he thought it was inappropriate and he was going to say something to Officer Masiak about it but he never did. He stated that [REDACTED] was present during this incident.
[REDACTED] stated that he could not recall anymore examples but he knew that there were some more out there. I asked him if it would refresh his memory if I gave him specific incidents that [REDACTED] had revealed to us where she felt that she had been harassed by Officer Masiak. [REDACTED] stated that he remembered an incident where he was on call [REDACTED] and Officer Masiak showed up and dismissed her from the call. He stated that he did remember making a comment to [REDACTED] that Officer Masiak was, "Arrogant," and that she had been doing a good job and to not to let it bother her.
[REDACTED] stated that he had met with [REDACTED] couple of times and one of them was at [REDACTED] to discuss the issues of her being harassed by Officer Masiak. Another time he met with her [REDACTED] to discuss these issues and at that time he had commented to her, "What's the issues between you and Casey?", and he had even joked with her and asked her, [REDACTED] stated that this meant did she turn him down for a date.
[REDACTED] believes that [REDACTED] had talked to Officer Masiak reference the harassment towards [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] agreed with the fact that he believed Officer Masiak was one of the main officers on night shift that was bullying [REDACTED]. He did not know of a specific reason as to why there were these issues between Officer Masiak and [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that another incident that he could confirm was the one where [REDACTED]. He stated he remembered having a conversation with her, because she had found [REDACTED] that she definitely needed to do details on this. He does not recall if Officer Masiak told [REDACTED] not to do, details.
[REDACTED] did this because he had observed that she was being bullied and that he was concerned about her welfare. [REDACTED] stated that during these meetings with [REDACTED] she did not go into a lot of real specific details, but she did tell him that she was so upset about being picked on by Officer Masiak, that she started crying. She told [REDACTED] that she had tried to confront Officer Masiak about why he was picking on her and that Officer Maslak did not really have much of a esponse.
When [REDACTED] was asked if he had witnessed any supervisors on the night shift engaging in any bullying or harassing behavior he stated that he has not personally witnessed anything himself. He does not specifically recall any MDT messages or any radio broadcasts that a supervisor would have made directed at officers in a bullying fashion. He stated that because [REDACTED] and there is usually a different mix of officers in the office depending on upon who the Shift Commander is.
[REDACTED] sated that he has met up and spoke with [REDACTED] numerous times in the past and that [REDACTED] has never confided in him about being the victim of harassment or bullying. [REDACTED] stated that he has never heard of any other officers speak negatively in a racial way towards [REDACTED] or the [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] officers that work at the Green Bay Police Department.
When asked if he felt that other females were on the receiving end of bullying or harassment he stated that he did not think that [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] get picked on and he responded that he did not think that any of the women get picked on as much as [REDACTED] does.
When asked if he thought that there was adequate supervision on the night shift [REDACTED]. When asked to give his opinion on who those Lieutenants were [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] remembers Lt. Korth making a comment at one time in reference to [REDACTED] and he described [REDACTED] as "useless as tits on a boar." He stated this conversation would have taken place at [REDACTED] with Lt. Korth and he believed [REDACTED] was also present when this statement was made.
[REDACTED] stated that he also recalled another incident where he thought that Lt. Korth [REDACTED] and it would have happened [REDACTED]. He stated that usually [REDACTED] he had attempted to try and get a hold ofthe road supervisor to clarify a couple of procedural questions that he had. He stated that he tried to get a hold of Lt. Korth by MDT and that there was no response. He said that he then tried to radio directly with Lt. Korth and there was still no response. He stated that under these normal situations that he contacted a dispatcher and the dispatcher would try to raise the Lieutenant; he stated that the dispatcher could not raise Lt. Korth either and that the dispatcher attempted to try contact with Lt. Korth on his cell phone, but he did not answer. [REDACTED] sated that he later learned from [REDACTED] that Lt. Korth was downstairs in the roll-call room at shift change hanging out with the nightshift. [REDACTED] believed that Lt. Korth was the Lieutenant assigned to the evening shift and that there were 3-4 Lieutenants in the roll-call room and no Lieutenants on the road. [REDACTED] stated that he was upset about this and actually spoke to [REDACTED] about it, who said that he would take care of it.
Another Lieutenant that [REDACTED] gave his opinion based on [REDACTED] because of this and that even as a Lieutenant right now that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] gave his opinion of [REDACTED] stating that he has observed [REDACTED] blow up at people too many times. He stated that he did not have a problem with [REDACTED].
When asked if he knew of any other officers on nightshift that were being picked on he stated that he has heard rumors about [REDACTED] being picked-on [REDACTED] and for not covering on calls in her own zone.
Interview with Ofc. Paul Spoerl - Part 1
[Page 78, Page 79, Page 80, Page 81, Page 82, Page 83, Page 84, Page 85, Page 86, Page 87, Page 88]
Interview with Ofc. Paul Spoerl - Part 2
[Page 88, Page 89, Page 90, Page 91, Page 92, Page 93, Page 94, Page 95]
Interview with Ofc. Kurt D. Brester - Part 1
[Page 96, Page 97, Page 98, Page 99, Page 100, Page 101, Page 102, Page 103, Page 104, Page 105]
Interview with [REDACTED]
Investigators conducted an interview with [REDACTED] on December 30, 2016. [REDACTED] was also present during the interview.
[REDACTED] was advised that information was received that he may have had a conversation about [REDACTED] being on light-duty, in the locker room with [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said he did not remember having that conversation. [REDACTED].
He was asked if he had any conversations with [REDACTED] in the locker room over the last few months and he said he talks to him about [REDACTED]. He said he could not remember having a conversion about [REDACTED].
The interview was concluded at this time.
Interview with [REDACTED]
Interview with [REDACTED]
[Page 110, Page 111, Page 112, Page 113, Page 114, Page 115, Page 116]
Interview with Ofc. Michael P. Rahn
[Page 116, Page 117, Page 118, Page 119, Page 120, Page 121, Page 122, Page 123, Page 124, Page 125, Page 126, Page 127]
Interview with [REDACTED]
On January 11, 2017 an interview was conducted with [REDACTED] in reference to Internal Investigation #16-542I. [REDACTED] was advised that he was a potential witness to what had been going on during the nightshift. He was read a short disclaimer in regards to the scope of the investigation and that he must answer all questions truthfully, with [REDACTED] advising he understood.
[REDACTED] was asked what had been going on during the nightshift and in particular about the investigation. He said now that the investigation is on-going, people show up for work and handle their calls and there is no more, "Smoking and joking," even with those people that he could do that with prior to the investigation. He was asked if there has been any talk in roll-call or the locker room about the investigation and he said he has only heard that the investigation is about [REDACTED] and Lt. Korth.
[REDACTED] was asked if there was anyone on the nightshift that he felt had been harassed, bullied or picked on either directly or indirectly and he said he doesn't see it that way. He stated, "We all smoke and joke about things with each other and as far as I knew, no one flat out said this person is being mean to me, or singling me out or causing issue with me."
[REDACTED] was asked about people sending out MDT messages and he said he couldn't recall specifics, but knows messages are sent out. He said there have been messages sent out car-to-car, between certain groups of people, and all-cars about certain people. He named [REDACTED] himself as being people that have had messages sent out about them. [REDACTED] agreed that the people he named were the ones a majority of the inappropriate messages were sent about. He was asked who those individuals were that are responsible for sending out a majority of the messages and he said, Lt. Robert J. Korth, Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester at one time and [REDACTED]. He did say that he did not think [REDACTED] messages were mean spirited like the others.
It was explained to [REDACTED] the difference between the self-deprecating humor we do to each other as friends and the actions that are done behind someone's back made to degrade or embarrass that person, and he agreed there was a difference. [REDACTED] said that whatever is sent out on the MDT, he does not take personal offense too.
[REDACTED] was presented with a message that had been sent out on the MDT about his [REDACTED]. It should be noted that [REDACTED]. The messages read, [REDACTED]. This was a message sent by a Green Bay Police Officer to another Green Bay Police Officer. [REDACTED] could only say, "That's no good," about the message. [REDACTED] said he thinks he remembered the call and was notified by Ofc. Michael P. Rahn that he had contact with [REDACTED] and that she [REDACTED] did not know about the messages being sent out about it. [REDACTED] said the message does not offend him, as he knows the lifestyle [REDACTED] leads, but he is pretty sure [REDACTED] would be upset by it.
He was asked if he could remember any specific messages that were sent out by Lt. Korth, Ofc. Masiak, or Ofc. Brester, that he thought should not have been sent out and he said he hasn't seen anything sent out in a while that would be inappropriate. [REDACTED] was asked if he has ever responded to MDT messages picking-on others, and he said he might have. He said when someone sends out an all-car message about someone, he may respond to someone specific and not to the whole group. He said he does not go out of his way to comment on those types of messages. He was told that we have not seen any messages sent by him that would be inappropriate. [REDACTED] was asked if he could remember any inappropriate messages being sent out by anyone about him and he said, "No."
[REDACTED] was asked about the locker room and if anyone had been talking about others, including supervisors, and he said recently [REDACTED] name was brought up. He explained someone was talking about her [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] understanding is that [REDACTED] said is was him, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] in the locker room having the conversation. He said they also talked about it standing along the wall outside in the East parking lot. He said they were talking about how it did not make sense that [REDACTED] went to a fitness class and then back to [REDACTED]. It was explained to [REDACTED] that this was not the case and the real reason [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] then said that he does not want to give any constructive criticism to anyone in fear that they will go to a supervisor and he will get in trouble. He was asked who he was referring too and he said [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He said he does not go out of his way to help them, unless they come to him, because he does not want them to feel he is attacking them. He said he has heard that, "They," do not take criticism very well. He was asked who had told him that and he said Ofc. Masiak. He was asked if he has observed any deficiencies in the way [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] do their job, and he believes [REDACTED] has a hard time talking to people. He explained that [REDACTED] and they were talking normally to a subject and then [REDACTED] started yelling at the person. [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said, "They," including himself, will, "Smoke and joke," with [REDACTED]. He said he still jokes around with him and it isn't a big deal. He said [REDACTED] is, "Coming around," and learning that it takes time to earn trust and respect. He said, "We're not going to be buddy buddy right away, until I get to know you." [REDACTED] either and when he has been; there have been several other officers on the same call.
[REDACTED] was asked if there was anyone else that frequently talked about [REDACTED] and he said [REDACTED] in particular Ofc. Masiak, Ofc. Brester, and Ofc. Rahn. [REDACTED] said, "All the guys that work with her said she's not a favorable cop."
He then explained a situation that he had been told where [REDACTED] vehicle and it was suspected that there was marijuana inside. Ofc. Dantoin called for a K-9 unit to respond to conduct a search and Ofc. Masiak disagreed and told her she did not need a dog, as she had enough probable cause to search the vehicle. He said there was some sort of argument between Ofc. Dantoin, and Ofc. Masiak. It was explained to [REDACTED] that requesting a K-9 unit under those circumstances could be beneficial, whether she had probable cause to search without one.
He also explained that Ofc. Masiak had told him about Ofc. Dantoin having called out with an open door [REDACTED] and she canceled her cover and sent out a message that she had already taken care of it. They felt this was an officer safety issue, as she had put herself in danger by handling the call alone. (This was explained by Ofc. Dantoin during her interview, that if she had called out with anything at that time of night, she would be harassed and chastised for it.) We explained that situation to [REDACTED] and he said he understood.
[REDACTED] was asked if he was aware of or had heard talk about anyone saying sexist or racial comments about females or minority officers and he said, "No." He was asked if he had heard a comment directed towards [REDACTED] while standing on the wall after roll-call with someone stating, "Oh, great. We hired another one of those [guys]." This was in reference to [REDACTED] accent when he speaks on the radio. [REDACTED] said he did not hear that comment and he has said that [REDACTED] is hard to understand on the radio, but it was not in a racial or derogatory manner.
We then talked about how [REDACTED] had said [REDACTED] is often the topic of conversation in the locker room and who is responsible for starting those conversations. He said Ofc. Masiak has brought up [REDACTED] several times and he has also brought up things about her. [REDACTED] said he has asked what had been going on with her and how she was doing, but never talked in a derogatory manner about her.
He was then asked if anything was being said about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] said, "Not recently." [REDACTED] said he had heard something about how [REDACTED] sounded on the radio and this was during roll-call. He said he could not recall who made the comment.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had ever had a conversation with [REDACTED] in the locker room, about [REDACTED] and he said no that he could recall. He said he has talked to [REDACTED] about the [REDACTED], but not about [REDACTED]. He was asked if he had had a conversation with anyone in the locker room about [REDACTED] when Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson was present and [REDACTED] said he did not think so.
He was then asked about a picture text message he had received from Ofc. Knutson, which was a picture of [REDACTED] with a caption underneath reading, "I Can't Work," making fun of her [REDACTED]. The picture had been taped to the back of the chair were she sat during [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said Ofc. Knutson had sent to him, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, Lt. Korth and two or three others that he could not remember. [REDACTED] said he forwarded the message to [REDACTED] so he was aware of it and [REDACTED] sent a message back saying, "Not funny." [REDACTED] said [REDACTED] then told him it was taken care of.
[REDACTED] said he sent the picture to [REDACTED] to give him a heads up, as he knew there was tension between people on the shift and that the picture would make it worse. He said he knew when he received the picture that it was not a good idea for the person who had sent it out to have done so. [REDACTED] was asked if anyone was talking about the picture at the Packer game that day and he said he talked to [REDACTED] who is a union board member, and showed him the picture on his phone. [REDACTED] said he advised [REDACTED] that he had brought it to [REDACTED] attention.
[REDACTED] was asked how he thought Ofc. Knutson fit in to this whole situation and if Ofc. Knutson had said anything to him after sending the picture. [REDACTED] said Ofc. Knutson has never talked to him about [REDACTED] and he has never seen any messages sent out by Ofc. Knutson in reference to her. He has seen Ofc. Knutson since the picture incident and Ofc. Knutson has not said anything to him. He did hear that Ofc. Knutson had taken responsibility for the picture, but that was all he knew. [REDACTED] was asked if he knew why Ofc. Knutson would send the picture to him and he said it may have been, because Ofc. Knutson may have sent it to people he knew he could, "Smoke and joke," with. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked what he thought of what had been going on, on the nightshift, and he said he doesn't think things have necessarily changed, but people are putting things out over MDT. He said in the past, you could approach a fellow officer and tell them to knock it off and now, you can't. He was asked what he thought about the supervision on nights and he said [REDACTED]. He said he has brought issues to [REDACTED] and he has done something about them. [REDACTED] then said [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was specifically asked about what he thought of [REDACTED] and he said he does not have any issues with him, but he has heard stories of [REDACTED] going from, "Zero to a hundred," yelling and screaming. [REDACTED] said [REDACTED] has not been like that to him, but he has heard from other people that he has done that on calls. He was then asked about [REDACTED] and he said he does not have any issues with him either. He said [REDACTED]. He was asked about [REDACTED] and he said, [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] went on to say that [REDACTED] will not allow them to handle the call and make their own decisions. He further said [REDACTED] does not address some of the issues they will bring to him. He was asked about Lt. Korth and [REDACTED]. He said Lt. Korth would let them make their own decisions on a call and he was there as a resource.
[REDACTED] was asked what the atmosphere was like in the Shift Commander's office when certain people were working and he said, "I know what you're talking about, [REDACTED] and certain people are on lunch." He said certain people like to eat when they eat, and don't like to deviate from it. He also said [REDACTED]. He was asked who the "group" was that he was referring too. He said [REDACTED]. He said the [REDACTED] are also in there. He was asked if he thought that type of atmosphere was productive and he [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] was asked what he thought the atmosphere was like when Lt. Korth was working in the Shift Commander's office and he said, [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] was asked if the thought it was appropriate for officers or supervisors, in particular Lt. Korth, Officer. Masiak, and Officer. Brester to be sending out MDT messages in the manner they do and he said [REDACTED]. He said he would not recommend doing it [REDACTED]. He was asked if he thought it was appropriate for a supervisor to be doing these things and he said [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if he had ever heard the nicknames [REDACTED] and he said, "No, and he never seen those in an MDT message either. He was asked if he had heard the nickname [REDACTED] and he said, "No."
He was asked if he thought the behavior on nightshift had increased since the captains left or if it was the same and he said [REDACTED]. He was asked if he specifically knew who had been brought in and he said he heard Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak. He said he did not know of anyone else. He was asked if he knew if Lt. Korth had ever been brought in and talked to about his MDT messages and [REDACTED] said he did not know. He was asked if it would surprise him if Lt. Korth had been brought in and was talked to about this messages and he said, "No."
[REDACTED] was asked if he heard about Ofc. Masiak keeping [REDACTED] handcuffs after transporting someone to jail for her and he said, "No." He was asked if he had ever observed or heard of the "[REDACTED] Walk" and he said no.
[REDACTED] was asked if anyone had contacted him about the investigation and he said, "No." He said he has gone to ask questions to his [REDACTED] asking them about a time line for the investigation.
He was asked if he was working the night [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were [REDACTED] and a message was sent out by Ofc. Masiak and he said, "No," but he had heard about it. He was asked what he had heard and he said he heard that Ofc. Masiak had sent out a message about how they can take a call and not do any paperwork on it.
[REDACTED] was then advised if he became aware of any additional information, or if he remembered anything else, he was to report it to the Professional Standards Division (LOL!). He was advised not to talk about the investigation with anyone, except his union representation and his wife. The interview was concluded at this time.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On January 12, 2017, [REDACTED] met with Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators in reference to the harassment and bullying going on in reference to the nightshift.
Throughout the course of this investigation, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators received information that Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin had left nightshift after a short time of being assigned to the shift because she had been bullied or intimated by the officers.
Upon interviewing [REDACTED] she stated that she started at the Green Bay Police Department in [REDACTED]. She stated to the best of her recollection that the Shift Captain was [REDACTED]. She stated that she had been assigned to [REDACTED].
When asked if there were any specific officers on the shift that she had issues with, she stated that [REDACTED]. However, she said that there was a period of [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]. She believes that [REDACTED] then went to [REDACTED] and commented to [REDACTED] that she was being harassed or bullied and that was the reason why she [REDACTED] stated that at some point [REDACTED] had pulled her aside and had questioned her because he was concerned that one of his officers might have been bullied by one of the nightshift officers and she told [REDACTED] at that time that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that at the time she felt that [REDACTED]. She stated that he would frequently send out MDT messages titled, "Knowledge is Power," and then add information segments to his message reference case law or ordinances in a way to motivate the shift. She stated that after he would send out these all-car message that Lt. Robert J. Korth would usually follow-up with a mocking MDT message to a specific officer so that [REDACTED] would not know that this was done behind their back. [REDACTED] stated that she was one of those officers that would frequently receive those messages from Lt. Korth. When asked how often she had received a message from Lt. Korth she stated that she could not remember but, "It was a lot," and stated, "It was probably more than ten times." She commented at the time it was probably funny, but [REDACTED].
She stated that [REDACTED] she did not recall anything specific about officers bullying her or trying to intimidate her, as she would do policing outside of her district. She stated that there was an expectation that officers are responsible for their districts, just like there is on almost every shift on the police department.
[REDACTED] stated that when [REDACTED] started at the police department [REDACTED]. She stated that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED] recalled that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that she does not know why Ofc. Dantoin and Ofc. Masiak have so many issues between the two of them, but she did say that recently when she was in the girl's locker room and she saw Ofc. Dantoin who made a comment to her that, "Casey's a real dick." [REDACTED] stated that she also recently attended a department sponsored school with Ofc. Masiak and he had commented to her that he, "Wasn't very fond of her," referring to Ofc. Dantoin. [REDACTED] stated that she could not elaborate exactly on why their relationship had taken such a negative tone.
Interview with [REDACTED]
On January 13, 2017, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators interviewed [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] accompanied [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] was explained the reason for the interview and that at the time of the interview, he was considered a witness or victim of the harassment and bullying that had been found to be occurring on the nightshift.
When [REDACTED] was asked if he believed any particular employees on the nightshift may have been the victim of harassment or bullying, he said that he thought he was a victim along with [REDACTED]. He thought that [REDACTED] was a victim due to a previous incident where [REDACTED] was picked-on for [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] was asked who he thought was doing the harassment or bullying, he first said Lt. Robert C. Korth because he had personally witnessed him sending out a lot of MDT messages of that type. He also said that he heard that Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, Ofc. Michael P. Rahn, and Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt were bullying and harassing other employees and he heard this from other officers and supervisors.
[REDACTED] said that he had heard Lt. Korth call [REDACTED] the [REDACTED] one night while Lt. Korth was assigned to the desk and he was in the Shift Commander's office with [REDACTED]. He said that he asked what [REDACTED] meant and that Lt. Korth said that it meant that [REDACTED]. He said that he had some severe disagreements with Lt. Korth about work performance. One thing [REDACTED] recalled was that Lt. Korth expressed his strong views that he was a Republican and picked-on [REDACTED] for being a liberal and a Democrat and this went beyond friendly banter to dislike. [REDACTED] also said that Lt. Korth sent out a lot of MDT messages that would rip on [REDACTED] that were titled, "Knowledge is Power." He also said that Lt. Korth would send out messages ripping on him for an incident over a year and a half ago involving [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said that the messages about [REDACTED] turned into a blowup with Lt. Korth that ended with Lt. Korth telling him to lighten up and stop being a company man. He next said that he has heard Lt. Korth say that [REDACTED] is a substandard employee. [REDACTED] said that he never saw he never saw [REDACTED] as a substandard employee when he went on calls with her, and added that [REDACTED] performance statistics were always above the shift average. Next, [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would say things over the radio that would diminish what was going on with an active call, and he said that this would also be a time that Lt. Korth would say the joke about [REDACTED] said that he would get so frustrated with Lt. Korth that he would just block him out, and although he considered Lt. Korth a friend, he [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] said that he would avoid the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Korth was assigned to the desk because Lt. Korth would have the music cranked. He said that Lt. Korth would always pass gas in the office and think it was funny. When asked if Lt. Korth ever gave him a nickname, he said that Lt. Korth calls him [REDACTED] but he does take that negatively because [REDACTED]. He said that he didn't take the [REDACTED] nickname as complimentary when Lt. Korth called him that in front of officers. As for other nicknames, he said that Lt. Korth calls everybody "Randy" but he doesn't know why.
[REDACTED] said that he brought both Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester in separately after the incident where [REDACTED]. He said that he told them separately that the two needed to work together and back each other up no matter what they thought of each other. He said that part of this talk was also to stop calling off dispatch-assigned cover officers because the two didn't like the assigned officer. One of the officers that he remembered getting called off was [REDACTED]. He added that Ofc. Masiak and [REDACTED] did not like each other and the two were not compatible as work partners.
When asked why [REDACTED] had earlier said that Lt. Korth had commented that [REDACTED] was a substandard officer, [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth complained that she would sit by the [REDACTED] parking lot all night and talk on her phone. [REDACTED] said that he figured that Lt. Korth just wasn't seeing the work [REDACTED] was doing and that he had no problem with what she was doing. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] told him that she would take time off as she earned it, which probably didn't sit well with other officers who thought she cared more about being off than working. He said that Ofc. Rahn was one person who would comment about [REDACTED] being off in roll-call and he believed Ofc. Rahn was being critical of [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] did say that there were no issues with [REDACTED] inappropriately taking time off or abusing any of her off-time use.
[REDACTED] said that he has talked with [REDACTED] on the nightshift, [REDACTED] about the all-car messages that Lt. Korth would typically send out. He said that Lt. Korth would send messages about everybody and Lt. Korth was [REDACTED]. When [REDACTED] said he would try to meet up with Lt. Korth by sending him a message, Lt. Korth would not be willing to meet up with him. He said that nobody else in the department picks on him to the level that Lt. Korth picks on him. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] met with him and said that he could not believe how Lt. Korth can send out the type of the messages he sends and that Lt. Korth should not be joking around so much and sending out the messages he does as a supervisor. He also said that [REDACTED] has complained to him about the messages that Lt. Korth sends out.
[REDACTED] said that officers congregate in the Shift Commander's office more when Lt. Korth was assigned to the desk. He estimated that there could be between five to seven officers that would be hanging around the Shift Commander's office that would include [REDACTED]. The officers would hang out in the Shift Commander's office anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, and Lt. Korth would commonly be playing hunting or fishing videos or would play music loud, [REDACTED] said. Additionally, [REDACTED] said that most every time that Lt. Korth was assigned to the desk, the music would be played loud. Finally, [REDACTED] said that he thought [REDACTED] and that he knew that Lt. Korth has called in sick after he was out fishing all day.
[REDACTED] was asked if particular female officers on the nightshift were picked-on. He said that [REDACTED] was not picked-on. He said that [REDACTED] was picked-on for staying on the fringe on calls that were her calls and he heard that she left her district when she went from her assigned District [REDACTED] to meet another officer at a gas station in District [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED] was not picked-on, [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED] was picked-on for taking a lot of time-off on the weekend, including taking time off and using sick-time when she was [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] was picked-on and bullied for taking time-off and for [REDACTED]. He could not name specific officers, but he said that he had heard that officers grumble about how much time [REDACTED] was in the station. [REDACTED] was not sure if it was common knowledge that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if [REDACTED] ever complained about being picked-on and he said that she complained to him one time on a call on [REDACTED]. He said that the call was a report of a man with a gun and that other officers had the man in custody and seated in the back of a squad car by the time [REDACTED] arrived three to five minutes later. When [REDACTED] arrived at the scene, the officers asked her to watch the male in custody and she complained to [REDACTED] that she was being picked-on and said that "you," which he took to mean [REDACTED], don't do anything about it. [REDACTED] said that she was asked to watch the suspect only because she was the last one there, and that he went on calls that [REDACTED] was on for a while and did not see any harassing behavior.
[REDACTED] was asked if he had ever heard any complaints about Ofc. Dantoin tactics and he said that the only one who mentioned her tactics with him was [REDACTED]. He said that the call [REDACTED] told him about was a call at [REDACTED] involving finding an open door and Ofc. Dantoin did not call for backup. He said that [REDACTED] addressed the matter with [REDACTED] and then told [REDACTED] that Ofc. Dantoin did not call for backup because she did not want to disrupt the officers in District Bravo? to help her. He said that Ofc. Dantoin would have thought the she might be disrupting other officers' break times and might have "caught hell," and he said this would only happen to [REDACTED]. On that night, [REDACTED] thought [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were the other District Bravo? officers. [REDACTED] said that he spoke with Ofc. Dantoin once about her tactics on a call involving an emotionally disturbed male. [REDACTED] said that he arrived at the scene and found Ofc. Dantoin already speaking with someone at the front door of the suspect house. He said that he spoke with Ofc. Dantoin in a coaching manner about this incident.
When [REDACTED] asked if any nightshift supervisors harassed or bullied people, he said that the only supervisor that would do that would be Lt. Korth. [REDACTED] said that he had heard of Lt. Korth's imitation of [REDACTED] from [REDACTED]. He said that the imitation involved Lt. Korth pulling up his pants and [REDACTED] thought that Lt. Korth was imitating him. When asked if he had ever heard of Lt. Korth making "monkey or ape noises," he said that he had also heard this from [REDACTED] and when he was told, the noises were not related to any person. When asked if he had ever heard the phase "NDNS" or "JNBN," and after he was given an explanation of what this could mean, [REDACTED] said that he had never heard that. He also said that he has never heard the "N-word" in the workplace or by officers towards the public.
[REDACTED] said that he spoke with [REDACTED] and then he decided to come upstairs to report the things they knew Lt. Korth was doing. He said that after the picture incident involving Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson posting the picture of Ofc. Dantoin, he was motivated to come upstairs because he didn't want to lose his job. He understood by reporting this activity, that he might be crucified for going upstairs by the guys on the shift, even though it was the right thing to do. Also during that night, [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] spoke with [REDACTED] about what was going on and this conversation made him and [REDACTED] positive they needed to go upstairs with the issues. [REDACTED] said that [REDACTED] told him that he asked [REDACTED] if this was about the picture and that [REDACTED] said that it was about the picture and a whole lot of other things that were going on. [REDACTED] then said that when he and [REDACTED] spoke about their previous concerns, and the addition of the conversation with [REDACTED], that it was [REDACTED] perception that it was time to bring this complaint upstairs because they didn't want to lose their jobs [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked what he had meant when he said that he would be crucified for bringing the complaint upstairs. He said that this meant that the nightshift would label him as a "snitch" or a "narc," or that he was selling out his fellow officers. He also said that he thought [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] said that he and [REDACTED] had already decided to go upstairs with the picture of [REDACTED] going around, and the addition of [REDACTED] telling [REDACTED] that [REDACTED] was fed up with these things and something needed to be done solidified the need to go upstairs.
[REDACTED] was asked if he saw the picture of Ofc. Dantoin that was taken on a cellphone and he said that he saw if briefly at the Packer/Seattle game as Ofc. Knutson had it on his phone. He said the he looked at the picture and said, "Nice," which he meant as sarcastic and as, "Why would you do that?," and he then walked away. [REDACTED] said that there were a group of officers by him of which he thought included [REDACTED] at that time and that Ofc. Knutson showed it to the others officers as a joke. He said that he couldn't see what the words were below her picture, but did not think that the picture was complimentary to Ofc. Dantoin. When he saw the picture, [REDACTED] said that he was thinking, "What did Lt. Korth do now?," because Ofc. Knutson commonly works OWI patrol on the nightshift.
The night right after the Packer game, [REDACTED] said that he talked with [REDACTED] about the picture, who told him that he knew about the picture as well. He said that he did not address the picture at the Packer game because he did not want to miss any of his game assignments. He said that the picture is clearly [REDACTED] and he recognized that the picture was Ofc. Dantoin's department photo. [REDACTED] said that looking back, and when reminded that the picture was making fun of an employee and he was seeing it while he was working, [REDACTED] that he probably should have done something at the time he saw the picture and not just walked away.
[REDACTED] was shown his details from a month prior when he wrote of the incident with Ofc. Dantoin's picture, and at that time, he wrote that the picture included the words, "I Can't Work." He explained that he did not know what the picture said that the time, but learned of what it said later that day. He further explained that he was troubled by the picture and that he and [REDACTED] spoke that Sunday night and the following night about what to do with this. He then clarified that reporting this was more than saving his job or promotion and reporting it was the right thing to do .
[REDACTED] was asked if [REDACTED] Facebook pictures were opened at work. He said that he has opened [REDACTED] Facebook profile at work to view pictures of her wedding pictures, vacation pictures, pictures in a boat, pictures of her in a bikini, pictures of her at a waterpark, and pictures of her daughter. When asked if any other employees would have seen the Facebook pictures of [REDACTED] that he opened while working and on a work computer in the office, he said that it was likely that [REDACTED] had seen them along with [REDACTED] and various guys on the shift. He said that the viewing of these pictures would have been about two years ago back when [REDACTED] was on the shift, and he said that he believed [REDACTED] would have also seen the pictures that he brought up from Facebook on a work computer on work time.
[REDACTED] said that he has had a number of blowups over how he and Lt. Korth differ in doing their jobs over the last couple years. He gave examples including one time that a TV station wanted to interview [REDACTED] that Lt. Korth refused to do, and another example of how Lt. Korth would leave difficult cases in the approval waiting area of Green Bay Electronic Records Program (GERP) for [REDACTED] to do.
He also believed that Lt. Korth would undermine things he and [REDACTED] would try to do on the shift. [REDACTED] said he also had a blowup in the locker room with Lt. Korth, which he didn't remember why it started, but he recalled that he was mad at Lt. Korth for not doing his job. When he would have disagreements with Lt. Korth, [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would call him a, "Company man," and an, "Admin person," and then wouldn't talk to him for a while after the disagreement. He said that Lt. Korth had taken a picture of him sleeping in a squad car one time when they were parked car-to-car.
He was asked if he ever heard racial names and [REDACTED] said that the only time that he had ever heard any combination of the "N-word" was from Lt. James LaValley in a private conversation that was in the Shift Commander office. He also said that Lt. Korth may have been in the office with them, and the conversation was in relation to the riots in Ferguson, Missouri that were going on at the time. He said that he has never heard any combination of "JNBN" and did not know what that meant before this interview.
[REDACTED] aid that Chief Thomas J. Molitor investigated Lt. Korth two or three years ago for "crank calling" a neighbor where Lt. Korth used to live. He said that Lt. Korth and another neighbor made those calls and a complaint was made to the De Pere Police Department. [REDACTED] said that both he and Lt. Korth were called in by Chief Molitor and that they both said everything that they did. He said that Lt. Korth called the neighbor "Split Wedge," and Lt. Korth picked-on him because he was on administrative leave from a Correctional Officer job in Oshkosh (OSCI).
[REDACTED] said that he doesn't know the real name of "Split Wedge" and said that he was very odd. He said that Lt. Korth picked-on "Split Wedge" because of these oddities. Later in the interview, [REDACTED] was asked why Chief Molitor would have called him in on the crank calls, and he said that it was because he had been at Lt. Korth's house when the calls were made. He said that he knew there had been an investigation by the De Pere Police Department headed by Sgt. Matthew Guth who had called him about the investigation. As for the outcome of the meeting with Chief Molitor, [REDACTED] said there was no discipline or counseling register entry, and Chief Molitor just told him to, "Watch what you do and knock it off." He said that he was not happy or proud of being called in by the Chief and called by the De Pere investigator, so he started to distance himself from Lt. Korth.
[REDACTED] was asked why Ofc. Knutson would have showed him the harassing picture of Ofc. Dantoin. He said that he and Ofc. Knutson [REDACTED] he [REDACTED] so he figured that Ofc. Knutson felt comfortable with him. [REDACTED] said that he wished he could go back to that day and do things differently. He then added that he thought Ofc. Dantoin? was, "Milking the system," and maybe Ofc. Knutson knew that. [REDACTED] said he thought that when [REDACTED] got bumped out of taking Christmas or Christmas Eve off, that she then all of a sudden went [REDACTED] and that he discussed this with [REDACTED]. He added that at the morale party, [REDACTED] said that she likes to do the least work possible to get the most credit and get the most time off. He said that there was probably six other people that may have heard this, and that could have included [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if there were any problems between himself and Ofc. Masiak. He said that [REDACTED]. He said that Ofc. Masiak was teased for [REDACTED], but he never teased Ofc. Masiak about this and was [REDACTED]. He added that he had [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if he knew about Ofc. Masiak taking Ofc. Dantoin's handcuffs. He said that he was not working the night of the arrest, but was working the next night when Ofc. Dantoin came into the Shift Commander's office looking for her handcuffs. He said that [REDACTED] told him that Ofc. Masiak was the one who took the arrested person to jail, so [REDACTED] said that he sent a message, or told, Ofc. Masiak to come in to the station. He said that he had a conversation with Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Masiak told him that he put the handcuffs on the counter or in the drawer. When he saw Ofc. Dantoin a couple days later, [REDACTED] said he asked her if she got her handcuffs back and she said that she did not, and believed that Ofc. Masiak still had them. [REDACTED] said that he told [REDACTED] what Ofc. Masiak had said and added that he had seen a pair of handcuffs on the counter earlier, so he thought someone had taken the wrong pair of handcuffs. He said he never heard anything further about the handcuffs and assumed that Ofc. Dantoin got them back.
[REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth told him a story about when [REDACTED]. Lt. Korth told him that [REDACTED]. He gave an example that Lt. Korth would go to a gas station on-duty, and seeing a "minority" using food stamps would openly comment that they were using his tax dollars. He said the only "minorities" that Lt. Korth would comment on in this way were Blacks, and Lt. Korth would comment that the person was lazy and needed to get a job so they would stop sponging off him. [REDACTED] said that Lt. Korth would commonly get the receipt from the station attendant and then take a picture of the receipt to keep track of the biggest food stamp purchases.
He said that Lt. Korth would comment that Blacks were lazy and didn't work, and it was also possible that Lt. Korth would also use the "N-word" during these times. [REDACTED] said that he never saw Lt. Korth take pictures of the receipts, but Lt. Korth would show him pictures of the receipts on his phone while on-duty and comment on how much was spent on pizzas or sodas or whatever else. He said Lt. Korth would comment on things like the Blacks should get a job or should stop having kids, or would comment that a Black had several kids. He also said that Lt. Korth said the full "N-word" in relation to being upset at the Freddie Gray incident and Lt. Korth would complain that the officers were getting blamed for what the "N-guy" did, and these conversations occurred in the Shift Commander's office.
When asked about the supervision on the nightshift, and the individual supervision in particular, [REDACTED] started by saying that [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED]. Of all the supervisors on the shift, [REDACTED] said that he is most in tune with [REDACTED] for supervisory-style and communicates most with him.
[REDACTED] said that he thought [REDACTED] thought Lt. Korth [REDACTED]. He thought that [REDACTED].
Interview with Ofc. Kurt D. Brester - Part 2
On January 16, 2017, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators conducted a second interview with Ofc. Kurt D. Brester. The interview was conducted in the second floor conference room at the Green Bay Police Department. [REDACTED] was present.
Ofc. Brester was given a brief synopsis of the investigation and complaint against him, to include the alleged policy violations. He was advised that based on several interviews that were conducted since his first interview, along with some of his past responses to questions, new information had been discovered, that we needed to talk to him about.
Ofc. Brester was presented with several MDT messages that had been sent by him or that he responded to. Below is an evidentiary chart of the messages:
Message Sent To/From Date Subject Victim KB1 C. Masiak 08/09/2015 he's dumb lol..... [REDACTED]
KB2 C. Masiak 06/21/2015 it's noons brah haha...try? Long snapper should be called in already Afternoon Shift
KB3 C. Masiak 07/23/2015 check county call..living up to their name BC Sheriff
KB4 C. Masiak 07/07/2015 dumb dumb [REDACTED]
KB5 C. Masiak 07/30/2015 umm 2 uwgb cops lol...good stat [REDACTED] UWGB Police
KB6 C. Masiak 04/03/2016 prolly the only one 23 so far.... [REDACTED]
KB7 C. Masiak 11/26/2015 welcome to nights..taking care of your sector sucks [REDACTED]
KB8 C. Masiak 11/27/2015 so you're saying I have to work the game and then the road? [REDACTED] But when will I see my family?
KB9 C. Masiak 12/05/2015 [REDACTED] cleqaring up for that 10-50 on greenbriar/clowns [REDACTED]
KB10 C. Masiak 01/14/2016 she asked if you wold and I told her that she'd have to ask you lol [REDACTED]
KB11 C. Masiak 07/17/2016 [REDACTED] really couldn't do the transport? [REDACTED]
KB12 C. Masiak 07/25/2016 [REDACTED] gooooo [REDACTED]
KB13 C. Masiak 07/30/2016 only 2 sups and they are both on that call lol Supervisors
KB14 C. Masiak 10/19/2015 pretty cool that [REDACTED] just stays on training screen while we [REDACTED] have Adam helping us lol
KB15 C. Masiak 11/21/2015 probably just keep me 10-8 lol...oh [REDACTED] [REDACTED] wonder what beef and his rider are talking about..must be pretty quick in that car
KB16 C. Masiak 08/22/2015 "[REDACTED] will go" [REDACTED] I don't think [REDACTED] likes pulling her weight
KB17 C. Masiak 08/17/2015 mr negativity is back in full swing... [REDACTED]Ofc. Brester was presented with the aforementioned MDT messages and was asked if he violated policy by sending the messages. Ofc. Brester said, "Yes," to each message.
Ofc. Brester was advised that after reviewing his first interview and from additional information being learned in the course of the investigation, investigators needed clarification on some questions.
Ofc. Brester was again asked who the officers were that were responsible on the nightshift for harassing others and he said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked who specifically had concerns with how [REDACTED] performs her job and he [REDACTED]. Ofc. Brester was asked if he had ever addressed any of his issues about [REDACTED] with a supervisor and he said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was again asked if he knew anything about Ofc. R. Casey Masiak transporting a prisoner for Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin and keeping her handcuffs and he again [REDACTED]. He was asked if Ofc. Masiak had ever talked to him about the incident and he [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked if he was present when Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt made a comment about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] ejaculated on her face and then she went home and kissed her kids with the same mouth. Ofc. Brester again said. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked if he had ever heard, seen, or done the "[REDACTED] Walk" and he said outside of work he has done it once or twice, but at work [REDACTED]. He was confronted with the fact that in his first interview he told us that he had only heard about the "[REDACTED] Walk" and he said [REDACTED]. He was asked if there were any racial undertones to the walk and he said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester said he is not going to admit to something if he did not see or hear it. He was asked why he was doing "the walk," and what he or the agency would gain by it and he said, "Nothing, it's terrible." He said he has made fun of others as well. He said he has made fun of former [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] so he would not say it was just one person. He was asked who started the "[REDACTED] Walk" and he said [REDACTED]. He was asked what he knew about the MDT message, "Knowledge is Power," and he said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked what he had meant when he said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He was asked if supervisors could make traffic stops or do police work and [REDACTED]. He was asked if it was his job to determine what supervisors can or can't do, and he said [REDACTED].
He was asked again if he made a statement about [REDACTED] referring to her as a [REDACTED] and he again said, he did not make that statement. He was asked why an officer would tell us that he said this and he said he would like to know also.
He was advised that he has given us answers in the past, which seem to minimize things and he said he could admit to doing it all. He said if he had the answers he would tell us. Ofc. Brester stated, "Trust me, I want this over with just like everyone else does."
He was asked why no one hangs out in the Shift Commander's office when [REDACTED] are in there and he said, [REDACTED]. He was asked if they were stricter or more professional and he said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He said with [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was again confronted with specific incidents involving [REDACTED] and Ofc. Masiak, that we were told he was present at and again he stated [REDACTED]. He remembered [REDACTED].
He was asked if he had ever heard anyone use the "N-word" during or after a call, or in the Shift Commander's office and [REDACTED]. He was asked how many times he had ever used the "N-word" after a call or in the Shift Commander's office and he said he has not used the word at work.
He was asked if he would be surprised if someone told us that he used the "N-word" at least eight times and he said, "Yes," he would be very surprised. He was asked why someone would tell us that and he said, "I do not know." He said he has used the word in the past, but not at work.
He was asked if he had ever heard Lt. Robert J. Korth say anything derogatory about Black people, in particular about Quest Cards or being on welfare, and he [REDACTED]. He was asked if he had ever heard the acronym "JNBN" and he [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
He was asked what he thought would happen with the relationships the Green Bay Police Department has made with the Black community if they find out and he said [REDACTED]. He was again asked if he has heard anyone make derogatory comments about Black people and he said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked if he ever used the phrase, "He talks like a drunk Mexican," and he said, "Yes, [REDACTED] and more than likely I've said it." He was asked if he had ever heard anyone say that Hispanics always run from cops and he said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He did say [REDACTED]. Ofc. Brester was confronted with the fact that other officers stated they have heard Ofc. Masiak make derogatory comments about minorities in the past and if he, being so close with Ofc. Masiak, had ever heard him make such statements and Ofc. Brester said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Brester [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked if it was right for him to pass judgment on people and say that a majority of the people he dealt with in his district were of color and he said, "No."
Ofc. Brester was asked if he was aware of Ofc. Masiak leaving the City of Green Bay to meet up with a female Brown County Sheriff's Deputy and [REDACTED].
We presented Ofc. Brester with a MDT message and again asked him what it meant. The message was, "dumB," in which he replied the capitalized "B" did not mean "dumb bitch." He said it meant absolutely nothing. He was advised that this message appears all the time in his conversations over the MDT with Ofc. Masiak and he said he did not know why they started it, but it did not mean "dumb bitch." He said it was just something they thought was dumb and no other meaning behind it.
He was asked about several MDT messages that said, [REDACTED] and he said it was [REDACTED] with a "Y" on the end. He said that was the way he would spell [REDACTED] with a "Y" and not an "E."
Ofc. Brester was asked if there was anything else he would like to add and he said everything that he could remember, he told us about. He talked about [REDACTED] and everything that surrounded it and how he was embarrassed about the whole situation. He said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked if he understood how it looks, when other officers were telling us that he was present during incidents that he was asked about by investigators and he would say he didn't remember or he couldn't recall. Ofc. Brester was asked if he knew that Brady v. Giglio was and he said, "No."
Brady v. Giglio was then explained to Ofc. Brester. He said he now understands it and that he cannot lie, but he was not going to say he heard something when he did not remember it. He said, "I did not hear it or see it." He was saying this in reference to being asked if he was present when a comment was made about [REDACTED] face and then she would go home and kiss her kids with that face. Several officers during their interviews said that Ofc. Brester was present when the comment was made and Ofc. Brester denied being present or hearing the comment.
Ofc. Brester asked if we thought his MDT messaging had been better since he had his talk with [REDACTED] and he said he thought his messaging did get better. We then reviewed some messages that he had sent after his discussion with the Captain and it was noted that his messages decreased, but there were some messages that were sent that were inappropriate.
The interview was concluded at this time.
Interview with Ofc. Pheuchi M. Xiong
On January 6, 2017, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators interviewed Ofc. Pheuchi M. Xiong as a possible witness in potential harassment. His [REDACTED] accompanied him.
Ofc. Xiong was asked if he had any knowledge of officers on nightshift being picked-on or harassed, and if he had an opinion on who those officers would be. He replied that the two officers that would be picked-on most are [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong identified "district partners" as those officers who frequently pick on Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin and felt that Ofc. R. Casey Masiak was one of the main officers responsible for this behavior. Ofc. Xiong stated that Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester were the two main parties who would frequently pick on Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin.
Ofc. Xiong stated that he knows that "district partners" have commented to him about Ofc. Dantoin's poor work ethic, her tactics, and he has heard them say that she is incompetent as a police officer. Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Brester specifically made these comments.
Ofc. Xiong stated that he has personally seen bad tactics on a call that he was on with Ofc. Dantoin in the last couple weeks. He described a disturbance call in Bravo or Charlie? District where Ofc. Dantoin made a comment in front of a complainant and a suspect that she had, "Already taken two trips to jail," on prior calls and it was her Friday, and so she did not feel like doing any paperwork on this call. He thought this call would have been in [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong stated that on the same night he was on another call with Ofc. Dantoin where it was a "check the welfare" call. He stated that when he arrived on scene, he was knocking on the door trying to check the perimeter of the house and he could not locate Ofc. Dantoin.. He asked on the radio where she was, and he later found out that she was inside the home on the second floor, talking with a female subject and the "belligerent boyfriend." Ofc. Xiong stated that Ofc. Dantoin offered to give the intoxicated male a ride away from the residence even though he had threatened numerous times that if he got arrested that he was going to knock the officers out. Ofc. Xiong stated that as they walked the male downstairs, Ofc. Dantoin kept close proximity to the intoxicated male and he elaborated that he would have handled the call differently once threats were made by the male to use force against the officers.
Ofc. Xiong gave these two incidents as the only examples of calls that he had been on with Ofc. Dantoin where he could evaluate her tactics or policing style. He stated [REDACTED]. Ofc. Xiong stated he never addressed either of these issues with any supervisors, but he can remember Ofc. Masiak telling him that Ofc. Masiak had brought up issues in the past with supervisors reference Ofc. Dantoin tactics, but he could not remember who those supervisors were.
He stated that he knows Ofc. Masiak had mentioned going to supervisors on more than one occasion. He felt that because Ofc. Masiak had already gone to supervisors reference Ofc. Dantoin, he felt [REDACTED] and this is why he did not go to a supervisor or speak with Ofc. Dantoin about her poor tactics on the two incidents that he described.
When asked if Ofc. Xiong knew of any other police officers reporting Ofc. Dantoin's alleged tactical issues with supervisors he stated that he did not, but he knew that Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt had talked with Ofc. Dantoin. He said that this conversation took place when she had just gotten off of the Field Training Program. Ofc. Eickholt had told [REDACTED] that he had tried talking to Ofc. Dantoin, but she was not responding.
Ofc. Xiong stated that in his career as a police officer, he was made mistakes on calls and that his "district partners" have pulled him aside to debrief him on how he could have done things differently. Ofc. Xiong stated he has taken these suggestions to heart, but this could not be done with Ofc. Dantoin because [REDACTED] stated he does not know why Ofc. Masiak does not like Ofc. Dantoin and does not know all of their history together.
Ofc. Xiong was asked if he had any knowledge of any supervisors in the department mocking other officers and he stated that he has personally seen Lt. Robert J. Korth mocking [REDACTED] in the way that [REDACTED] walks. He said this happened a handful of times and when asked to estimate how many that would be, he stated approximately five times.
He has also heard Lt. Korth mock [REDACTED] on the way that he calls out on the radio. [REDACTED] stated he had never heard Lt. Korth make "monkey noises" directed at [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] stated that when Lt. Korth is mocking [REDACTED] that this is frequently done in the Shift Commander's office, and it is never when [REDACTED] is around. Ofc. Xiong stated that it has been done in front of [REDACTED] peers and they all get a giggle out of it when Lt. Korth does it. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong stated that he was heard the term "Black Walker" by individuals on the nightshift. It is usually said to [REDACTED]. He stated that he has "possibly" heard [REDACTED] make comments to the term of "Black Walker." He stated that he knows for sure that he has heard Lt. Korth and Ofc. Eickholt refer to Ofc. Aaron Walker as "Black Walker." None of these conversations were ever made when Ofc. Aaron Walker was present.
Ofc. Xiong stated that he knows other people make fun of [REDACTED], specifically the way [REDACTED] talks on the police radio. Ofc. Xiong said, "Everyone's hair stands up on the back of their neck," because when [REDACTED] talks you don't know if he's just been involved in a fight or if he's calling out with a traffic stop. Ofc. Xiong stated that [REDACTED] and the guys make fun of this by sending MDT messages out about him to each other.
Ofc. Xiong said that specifically he has heard Ofc. Masiak refer to Ofc. Aaron Walker as "Black Walker" approximately eight times. He said that this has occurred in roll-call when other officers have been around or could be when Ofc. Xiong had been parked in a squad car next to Ofc. Masiak's squad car, as well as in the Shift Commander's officer. Ofc. Xiong gave an example on how Ofc. Masiak would be telling a story about one or both Officer Walkers? and somebody would say, "Which Walker?" and Ofc. Masiak would then respond back, "Black Walker." It was pointed out that both Ofc. Aaron Walker and Ofc. Benjamin Walker are Black? so there would be no reason to differentiate between "White Walker" or "Black Walker."
Ofc. Xiong was asked if he ever heard Ofc. Masiak refer to members of the community or suspects by using the "N-word." Ofc. Xiong responded, "I don't think so," and then followed it up with a long pause. It appeared to investigators that he felt uncomfortable answering this question and he was asked the question again if he has ever heard Ofc. Masiak refer to people using the "N-word."
Ofc. Xiong replied that he hasn't heard Ofc. Masiak use the "n!gger" term, but has heard Ofc. Masiak use the "nigga" after calls. Ofc. Xiong gave an example of a type of call where they would have been on, where it was a possible Domestic Violence Offense-type of call, and stated that Ofc. Masiak had made a comment, "Hispanic guys always tell the truth; a White guy is 50/50, and a 'nigga' always tells a lie." Ofc. Xiong stated that he has heard Ofc. Masiak use the word "nigga" approximately five times and said that when Ofc. Masiak is talking like this it is usually around a very small group of officers which would include [REDACTED] and himself.
Ofc. Xiong was asked if he had any knowledge about Ofc. Masiak making any derogatory comments about [REDACTED] officers on our department. He was specifically asked if he remembered an incident where Ofc. Masiak had made a comment, "Oh, great. We hired another one of those [guys]," when they were standing outside at shift change and [REDACTED] voice came up on the police radio. Ofc. Xiong stated that he has heard Ofc. Masiak talk about [REDACTED] speech on the radio and that [REDACTED]. When asked again if he had heard of Ofc. Masiak making a comment reference "hiring another one of those." [REDACTED].
After a short break was taken, Ofc. Xiong was again asked the question on whether he heard Ofc. Masiak make the comment about, "Oh, great. We hired another one of those [guys]." Ofc. Xiong responded, "Yes," indicating that he had heard Ofc. Masiak make the comment. Ofc. Xiong explained how the incident happened and stated it was at nightshift roll-call and the shift was walking outside to get into squad cars from incoming afternoon shift. He said that "they" all laughed when [REDACTED] voice came on the radio with [REDACTED] because he was hard to hear when he had called out with a stop. Ofc. Xiong stated they were all walking and Ofc. Masiak turned his head back towards the group and made the statement. Ofc. Xiong could not recall the exact wording Ofc. Masiak had used and he did not know if it was a racial phrase or not, but agreed that if others had heard the comment, "It would be racist."
It was obvious to investigators that Ofc. Xiong and Ofc. Masiak were homosexual lovers as well and it was difficult for Ofc. Xiong to answer the questions, [REDACTED]. When asked if Ofc. Xiong thought the comment was racial, he stated that he did not think twice about it and just figured it was Ofc. Masiak just being himself. When asked if he thought Ofc. Masiak had issues with the minority people in the community, Ofc. Xiong stated, "Possibly," and then added, "I can't say yes [REDACTED]." Ofc. Xiong said that everyone has a line that you do not cross and he and shift-mates joke around a lot, but they have never crossed his line. Ofc. Xiong referred to this as a "comfort zone" [REDACTED].
A list of fellow nightshift officers was presented to Ofc. Xiong to see if he had witnessed any harassment or inappropriate behaviors from them. He responded accordingly to the following names:
Lt. Robert J. Korth - Ofc. Xiong and has heard him use the word "nigga" or "n!gger" approximately eight times. Ofc. Xiong said Lt. Korth would use these terms most frequently when they would be on police calls and gave one example of when a Black person runs away from the police, he said that Lt. Korth has made the comments similar to, "They always run and they always lie," and adding, "They're fast," referring to Blacks.
Ofc. Xiong stated that Lt. Korth would not just make the comments in front of him, but also in front of [REDACTED] who are working together either on or after a police call. He named the following officers as those being part of that [REDACTED] agreed that after a while he and other officers could have become desensitized about the racial comments that Lt. Korth was making. He agreed that it is possible [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong stated that one of the times that he saw Lt. Korth doing the "[REDACTED] Walk" was in the men's locker room and described Lt. Korth as, "Doing the walk and saying, I'm [REDACTED]." He described the walk that Lt. Korth did to investigators as, "Belly out, arms flailing, walking around with your belly first." Ofc. Xiong actually demonstrated, pushing his belly out and flailing his arms back-and-forth as he sat in the chair while being interviewed.
Ofc. Xiong stated that he has heard Lt. Korth make comments about [REDACTED] in reference to [REDACTED] on the radio. He also said that he has heard Lt. Korth talk about Hispanics in the community when they are involved in police calls and has heard him make the comment in the past, "No matter how drunk a Hispanic guy is, he'll always tell you the truth, but a Black guy will always lie."
Ofc. Kurt D. Brester - Ofc. Xiong has seen Ofc. Brester do the "[REDACTED] Walk," "A handful of times as well probably five times." He has also heard Ofc. Brester use the term "Black Walker" approximately five times. When asked if he has ever heard Ofc. Brester use the word "nigga" or "n!gger," he indicated that he had and said that he, "Estimated five times." Ofc. Xiong stated that Ofc. Brester would only use the "N-word" when there were [REDACTED] around and not the entire shift. He indicated that the [REDACTED]. Ofc. Xiong has also heard Ofc. Brester make fun of [REDACTED] and how no one can understand [REDACTED] when he speaks on the radio. In reference to Hispanics in the community, Ofc. Xiong has heard Ofc. Brester say the phrase, "Oh, great. We have another drunken Hispanic," when they have been on calls together.
Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt - Ofc. Xiong stated that he can remember approximately two times witnessing Ofc. Eickholt do the "[REDACTED] Walk" and has used the phrase, "Black Walker" approximately in the same frequency that Ofc. Brester has used it. He has never heard Ofc. Eickholt use the "N-word." When asked if he's ever heard Ofc. Eickholt make any negative references to Hispanics in the community or Hispanic officers, Ofc. Xiong responded, "The same numbers as everybody else," referring to Lt. Korth and Ofc. Brester's frequency.
Ofc. Matthew D. Knutson - Ofc. Xiong remembered a MDT message, but does not know what happened on the call, but knew it was bad enough that Ofc. Knutson did not want to be on another call with [REDACTED]. Ofc. Xiong was asked if he had ever seen Ofc. Knutson do the "[REDACTED] Walk" and Ofc. Xiong responded, "Maybe once." Ofc. Xiong stated he could not remember if he's ever heard Ofc. Knutson say the phrase "Black Walker" and he has never heard Ofc. Knutson use the "N-word." Ofc. Knutson sent out reference [REDACTED] calling Ofc. Knutson over one night when they were together for an OWI stop. The message had said something to the effect of how Ofc. Knutson would never take an OWI from [REDACTED].
Ofc. Michael P. Rahn - Ofc. Xiong has never seen Ofc. Rahn do the "[REDACTED] Walk" and only referred to "Black Walker," "Maybe once." He has never heard Ofc. Rahn use the "N-word," but because Ofc. Rahn works in District A, he frequently deals with so-called Native Americans and has heard him use the phrase, "Too much fire water tonight," when referring to so-called Native Americans.
Ofc. Xiong was asked if he has ever witnessed any supervisors involved in harassing or inappropriate behavior. He stated that he has joked around with [REDACTED] in the past, because [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and that the two of them have a comfort level together and can joke around. Ofc. Xiong stated that any conversations are only between the two of them and no one else would have been around.
When asked if Ofc. Xiong felt that he had ever been a victim of harassment he replied, "Yes," but not to the point where it bothered him.
He was asked about the picture of him that was placed in roll-call reference to [REDACTED] stated that when he saw the picture he just laughed and the thought it was funny. He said he doesn't know where it came from and that it just popped up one day.
He was asked about a MDT message that Ofc. Knutson had sent out reference him running over Ofc. Knutson's duty bag. Ofc. Xiong stated the MDT message was stereotyping Asian's poor driving skills. He also agreed that if the MDT message was released to the public, that it might cause some problems within the Asian culture in Green Bay.
Ofc. Xiong stated there was no other conduct where he felt harassed and if there were, we would report it to a supervisor, but only after approaching the responsible part first.
Ofc. Xiong was asked if he had any information on harassing MDT messages and who would have sent them out. He stated that Lt. Korth sent out the majority of the harassing messages, but other officers have sent them out as well.
He said that in the past he has seen MDT messages sent out by officers specifically directed at [REDACTED], "Guarding the [REDACTED]" because she frequently parks her squad in the [REDACTED] parking lot to utilize the WiFi.
Ofc. Xiong stated that he is guilty himself of sending out derogatory messages and he gave the example of when he would see [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] meeting up together [REDACTED] which would be out of their districts. Ofc. Xiong stated that he would become angry and would send the messages out to his friends who included [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong was asked about the atmosphere in the Shift Commander's office on the nightshift when Lt. Korth was working. He stated [REDACTED]. He stated that he has heard music cranked up coming from the Shift Commander's office and that this occurs more with Lt. Korth than it does with any other supervisor.
Ofc. Xiong was asked it he remembers the wall incident where Ofc. Eickholt had made a comment in front of a group of officers referencing [REDACTED] ejaculating on the face of [REDACTED] and then [REDACTED] uses that face to kiss her kids. Ofc. Xiong replied, "I can picture it. I don't remember exactly what was said." Ofc. Xiong stated that [REDACTED] was there and laughed about the statement when Ofc. Eickholt had made it.
Ofc. Xiong stated he does not know why Ofc. Masiak does not like Ofc. Dantoin and does not know what could have happened in their past to cause the conflict. Ofc. Xiong stated that Ofc. Masiak usually only confides to a small group of officers. Ofc. Xiong stated that he was one of those officers. Ofc. Xiong stated that Ofc. Masiak tried to mend the relationship with Ofc. Dantoin, but it just progressively got worse.
Ofc. Xiong cited a recent traffic stop where Ofc. Dantoin had a vehicle pulled over [REDACTED] to do a drug search on the interior of the vehicle. Ofc. Masiak was also on the call and told Ofc. Dantoin that she did not need a K-9, because there is an odor of marijuana present in the air and that she could do the search without the dog. Evidently Ofc. Dantoin still requested the K-9 for the search and this upset Ofc. Masiak, who according to [REDACTED] just stopped caring and even trying to work together with Ofc. Dantoin. Ofc. Masiak was upset, because Ofc. Dantoin was utilizing a K-9 when she did not need to, even though that's what a K-9 unit was for.
Ofc. Xiong was asked about the missing handcuffs that belonged to Ofc. Dantoin specifically if he recalled a phrase that Ofc. Masiak had used in the Shift Commander's office which was something similar to, "This is the first time they've ever been used." Initially Ofc. Xiong stated that he did not remember this specific comment of how Ofc. Masiak used it, but he remembered Ofc. Masiak walking in the Shift Commander's office and holding the handcuffs up. He stated that he recalled a comment similar to, "First time they've ever been used." Ofc. Xiong stated he does know what Ofc. Masiak did with the handcuffs, but he remembers handcuffs Ofc. Dantoin sending out an all-car MDT message asking for her handcuffs back. Ofc. Xiong confirmed that [REDACTED] were present in the Shift Commander's office when Ofc. Masiak had walked in and this would have been at approximately [REDACTED] when they all go on break together. Ofc. Xiong remembers the incident, but not exactly what was said.
When asked if Ofc. Masiak could have jokingly said that he was not going to give Ofc. Dantoin handcuffs back to her, Ofc. Xiong responded, [REDACTED] said if Ofc. Masiak would have made the statement, "I wasn't going to give them back," Ofc. Xiong added that Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong was asked about the incident when he, Lt. Korth, and Ofc. Eickholt were standing on Washington St. jerking each other off after a call and Ofc. Dantoin had driven he squad car by on the way into police headquarters. Ofc. Xiong was asked if any comments had been made by the group about Ofc. Dantoin not being in her assigned district. Ofc. Xiong said he could remember the incident, but said, "I can picture all three of us saying that," because Ofc. Dantoin would have been out of her district.
Ofc. Xiong said [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] are always kidding each other about this. Ofc. Xiong stated that he has never seen a policy or directive on this and that no supervisor has ever told him that this is the protocol. He stated that this is just something that they do on nights and [REDACTED]. He stated that this is in place so that officers do not purposely avoid paperwork calls in their area.
Ofc. Xiong was asked his opinion of the leadership and supervisors on the nightshift and he gave the following answers reference to supervisors: [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong was asked about the quality of supervision since the removal of captains on the nightshift and he stated [REDACTED]. He stated [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He described is as [REDACTED]. He stated [REDACTED].
When asked if he thought that Lt. Korth was a good supervisor, Ofc. Xiong stated the Lt. Korth [REDACTED]. When asked if he thought Lt. Korth was a good supervisor to [REDACTED].
Ofc. Xiong stated he has spoken with Ofc. Masiak since Ofc. Masiak was place on Administrative Leave. He stated at one point Ofc. Masiak told him that he has made mistakes and knows that he has to pay for them.
Interview with [REDACTED]
Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators received an email from [REDACTED] on January 31, 2017 stating she had recalled another incident. The email was as follows, which was referencing a conversation that [REDACTED] had with [REDACTED]:
Good Morning LT I know you are beyond busy but I think this is important. [REDACTED] asked me if I talked to you guys about what Casey said about Ofc. Dantoin. I had told [REDACTED]. I had totally forgotten about it until [REDACTED] asked me if I told you. Before Ofc. Dantoin came to nights, the guys found out she was coming to nights. One night before she came to nights, while we were on the wall, Casey was complaining about Ofc. Dantoin coming to our shift. Casey said "I'm gonna drive Ofc. Dantoin off the shift, or make her quit or make her kill herself!" There were multiple guys also on the wall. And I know I spoke up and said to stop and that, that was horrible to even say. I don't even know where you guys are in the investigation and y'all maybe done. But I was just reminded of that situation and I had to say something. Please let me know if you need anything from me. Thank you so much [REDACTED]In a follow-up email, [REDACTED] was asked if she recalled anything more unique about the day, in an attempt to better narrow down the time frame this comment was made. [REDACTED]. She explained that the comment made by Ofc. R. Casey Masiak was heard by the normal group he hangs out with, as it was made by the wall as they waited for afternoon shift to turn over their squads.
An analysis of [REDACTED] Telestaff, showed [REDACTED].
On February 3, 2017, I met with [REDACTED]. She was briefed on these comments and was asked if she had recalled having this conversation with [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED]. As they met up, and knowing the rumor of this investigation, [REDACTED] asked her how things were going. This was when [REDACTED] recalled the incident and in talking with [REDACTED] refreshed her memory of the discussion they had [REDACTED] confirmed that these comments were made to her, adding that it happened during [REDACTED] she inquired of [REDACTED] on how things where going for her on the nightshift.
[REDACTED] then explained to [REDACTED] that Ofc. Masiak commented along the back wall that Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin coming to nightshift was not a good thing, adding that, "[He's] gonna drive Ofc. Dantoin off the shift, or make her quit or make her kill herself!"
Later, [REDACTED] emailed back and [REDACTED] recalled this due to some other events ongoing during this time frame. Telestaff for [REDACTED] confirms that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
Interview with [REDACTED]
On February 1, 2017, at 5 pm, [REDACTED] was interviewed by Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators. She was told that she was not the subject of this investigation, and that the findings of this case and her interview, will be reviewed by the administration of the police department.
She was read our preamble, which each officer is read based on this ongoing investigation. After completing this reading, a basic background was discussed. The purpose of the interview is to determine if she was ever a victim of harassment and that she was not a subject of the investigation.
[REDACTED] explained that she has worked nightshift [REDACTED]. She was previously assigned to work the [REDACTED] District, with the same group of officers that still work that area. [REDACTED]. These officers being [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] explained that going into this field as a female, she knew she would be treated a little bit differently. Shed added she has to work a bit harder to overcome this and it's on any shift. She feels that on nightshift, people left her alone, but when she was on the afternoon shift, people were a bit harder to work with by having to show others she is competent and is a confident officer. Working nights, she couldn't think of anyone that would say they don't want to work with her.
[REDACTED] was asked about a conversation she had with [REDACTED] about some guys on nightshift that were assholes. She later recalled maybe she was talking about afternoon shift, not the nightshift. [REDACTED] stated she is not a victim of harassment, adding any new officer has a hard time, especially on the nightshift due to it being slower.
[REDACTED] stated that as a new officer on nightshift, they can find it difficult to build interpersonal relationships and confidence. She feels she doesn't look intimidating, and over the years she has proven otherwise. She knows she makes mistakes, and feels it is not a big deal if someone was talking behind her back.
She was asked about something specific people were making fun of her for. She explained [REDACTED]. She was razzed about this, people then calling her [REDACTED]. This was probably the worst thing she was razzed about, according to [REDACTED].
She was asked if she happened to know of any particular comments being made about her. She says that what she hears is just guys "Talking crap," knowing there is some male locker room talk, in sexual ways. [REDACTED] had nothing specific to share, just heard rumors about guys being guys, nothing in the locker room she can over hear.
[REDACTED] was explained the course of the investigation and the concern about whether she was being harassed. She stated as a female, she has to have an understanding about what could happen and she isn't the person that had her feelings hurt.
[REDACTED] elaborated that what was going on was out of frustration due to her [REDACTED] behavior and that guys are made fun of just as often as girls are. She explained that [REDACTED]. She added [REDACTED] left the afternoon shift as she couldn't get along with other females on that shift. She went to nightshift as she, "Couldn't make a female friend to save my life."
At one point, she found her bag dumped all over the floor in the locker room, and makeup was strewn about. Someone in the locker room had something against her and she never told a supervisor about it. She felt that she didn't fit in on the afternoon shift, thus she went nights. Now, due to sleep patterns she has switched back to the afternoon shift. She was asked who specifically on the afternoon shift had an issue with her and she was told by an unknown person in roll-call one day, that none of the girls like her. She couldn't recall who said this, adding that maybe [REDACTED] told her this. She added she doesn't have an issue with it now, adding it happens on every shift and you have to, "Break through the cliqueness."
[REDACTED] went onto explain that when she went nights, she was not picked-on any longer, it was a relief. It took a year to be invited to get coffee with another officer, which helped her feel accepted.
She was asked, if in the last year, if anyone gets picked-on relentlessly, to which [REDACTED] stated, "No." She added that [REDACTED] gets picked-on for running traffic, but that is more of a funny thing and that he is still [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] then discussed that she was aware, based on rumors, about [REDACTED] being harassed. She stated she has heard things being said, but they are said out of frustration. [REDACTED] explained that with [REDACTED] recently moving to work the [REDACTED] District, she felt uncomfortable about how [REDACTED] treats people. A couple examples were given:
1st call - [REDACTED] female screaming for someone to call cops. [REDACTED] was first to arrive. [REDACTED] speaks with the female inside the residence, and a car was found to be [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] meets up with [REDACTED] and brief each other on how to proceed. Instead of talking with [REDACTED], [REDACTED] starts yelling at the female telling her she, "Better tell me what happened. You better tell us what is going on now, blah blah blah..." This happened [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] was present for this incident. [REDACTED] felt that this type of comment made the formally cooperative subject become uncooperative. [REDACTED] had just come to the [REDACTED] District.
[On April 20, 2017, investigators spoke with [REDACTED] about this incident and his recollection of the events illustrated by [REDACTED]. He explained that he remembered the call, but recalled that the approach [REDACTED] took with the female was appropriate, given the situation. During this incident, officers were trying to determine [REDACTED] and the female was clearly not being truthful. [REDACTED] aggressive verbal approach was justified in this situation, given the circumstances. [REDACTED] explained that should this have been a more cooperative victim/witness or subject, this approach would not have acceptable.]
Of note, [REDACTED] recalled sitting down with [REDACTED] prior to these incidents and went over thee annual review, in or around [REDACTED]. During this meeting, it was known that [REDACTED] was going to be moving from the [REDACTED] District to the [REDACTED] District. [REDACTED] inquired with [REDACTED] on her feelings on this change. He recalled [REDACTED] saying she did not like [REDACTED] personality and style. He recalled explaining to her that she was going to be another officer she would need to work with and to try and get through the differences. [REDACTED] explained to him that she stated at one point she had tried to personally meet with [REDACTED] to go over their differences, but that meeting was not met with very warm reception.
[REDACTED] was asked if she talked with [REDACTED] about this and she said she, "Was afraid to talk with her about it." She was asked if she talked to a supervisor about [REDACTED] behavior on calls and she said they were brought to another supervisor's attention. [REDACTED] heard this from some [REDACTED] guys, but no specific supervisor were aware of her behavior that she recalls. She heard that Internal Affairs interviewed the [REDACTED] guys about his so [REDACTED] was afraid to discuss it. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] next explained a 2nd call for a guy making disturbance [REDACTED] which [REDACTED] did make a complaint about, which made her, "Extremely uncomfortable." [REDACTED]. A male was outside of the establishment, and she was talking with him, and decided with him that he was going to take a cab and leave. This male started talking to [REDACTED] about the military and then started becoming disorderly. [REDACTED] began to leave the scene, as [REDACTED] felt that [REDACTED] presence may have made the situation worse. [REDACTED] explained she was talking nicely to him and was wrapping up the call as the male was waiting for a cab. [REDACTED] didn't like that he was venting about being in the bar, thus [REDACTED] then told him in a "screaming match" about why he is not allowed in the bar. [REDACTED] then told [REDACTED] to "just leave." [REDACTED] went onto explain that [REDACTED] was in his car, and had to get out to talk with the male to help calm him down. [REDACTED] stated she was very uncomfortable the, "Most ever on a call," she stated she, "Was at a loss," and later told [REDACTED] about how this call went down. [REDACTED] explains to her that others have complained about [REDACTED] and they will have to talk with her.
[On April 18, 2017, investigators spoke with [REDACTED] about this incident. He did not recall any specifics concerning behavior exhibited by [REDACTED] on this call, especially not in the way [REDACTED] explained it.]
[REDACTED] was asked if [REDACTED] gets picked-on behind her back. [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] stated that [REDACTED] is the main person that nightshift is most frustrated about. She explained that rumors going around about the nightshift investigation were about [REDACTED]. She stated that she has no issues with [REDACTED]. She stated he makes funny slips on the radio, but he has not heard anything derogatory.
More specifically, [REDACTED] that he was upset with [REDACTED] and he had a private conversation with her about this and he told her this is not how things are done. This was a respectful conversation, with no mean intentions, according to [REDACTED].
During the interview, [REDACTED] was asked if she at any time was harassed by any supervisors, to which she replied that no supervisors have, or are, making fun of her or harassing her.
[REDACTED] was asked about any all-car messages that she could recall that were sent in reference to Ofc. Dantoin?. She stated that she couldn't recall anything specific and that nothing stands out. She further explained that any messages sent out about her were sent due to frustration from the majority of officers having difficulty working with Ofc. Dantoin? .
[REDACTED] explained that it "sucks" how this whole thing went down. She stated some of the road officers [REDACTED] asking why does one person have a hard time getting along with everyone. [REDACTED] stated she has previously asked [REDACTED] is she has a hard time getting along, she told her no.
[REDACTED] was asked if she could explain why it seems like three female officers are harassed via the MDT messages, but two are not He explained that [REDACTED] and herself, [REDACTED]. She was told that during this investigation it had been determined that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] are the ones being harassed.
[REDACTED] explained that she is more than capable to protect herself. She added she had learned that she has to take calls for the senior guys, especially if it's a crap call, the new person takes it, and she would take it. She said that she learned this on her own, and wants to show people she is willing to work, especially if it gets her the experience to further herself. She was asked who had taught her that, she explained that is just what people do, and was never taught this from any Field Training Officer. She was never pressured to do this, and denied there being a culture on the night shift to handle calls in this manner, it's something she likes to do.
[REDACTED] was asked if she had ever seen or witnessed overt harassment to [REDACTED]. She stated that she has not observed or heard anything on the back wall while waiting for afternoon shift officers to bring in squad cars. She did admit to seeing a MDT message sent, "Once in a while." She recalled the message sent by Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, which was in context with [REDACTED] know there have been others but could not think of specifically.
When asked if she was aware of a supervisor that sent any type of harassing messages, she stated she had not seen any from a supervisor. She added that Ofc. Masiak sends these types of messages out more than anyone does on nightshift.
She was asked if she was aware of any other female officers that could be victims of harassment. She stated she did hear the rumor that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were also a victim of harassment. She could not say for sure, as she spoke directly to [REDACTED], and she denied being a victim of any harassment. She added that she does no talk to [REDACTED] often enough to determine if the rumor was true. [REDACTED] stated she could not recall seeing any other message sent besides the one sent when [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if she has ever heard Ofc. Masiak say anything about getting Ofc. Dantoin to the point of quitting, leaving nights, or suicide, as it relates to her coming to the nightshift. [REDACTED] stated she has never heard this, but admitted that Ofc. Masiak does make off-the-wall comments like this.
[REDACTED] was asked about a comment made by a nightshift officer where [REDACTED] ejaculating all over [REDACTED] face, and how [REDACTED] kisses her [REDACTED] with that mouth. This comment caused some that heard this to laugh, while others walked away in disgust. [REDACTED] said she never heard this comment directly that day, but she said she knows stuff was said.
She added that when the relationship between [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] said it was hard to work with [REDACTED] based on this incident. She added that many were disgusted that [REDACTED] which in some ways helped others make more jokes about [REDACTED]. Ofc. Masiak often makes off-handed comments and it [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] then talked about how [REDACTED] slips up on the radio, calls out on traffic but forgets where he is, and those listening on the radio knew this about [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] recalled some people saying that he takes such a deep breath that it creates a bit of humor for those listening. She added [REDACTED] and that some officers would make comments both in front of him and behind his back.
[REDACTED] then mentioned she heard rumors that racist comments were made about [REDACTED] but said that she has never heard racial comments made towards [REDACTED]. She was asked what "JNBN" meant, but she stated she didn't know what the "N" stood for. She stated she has never heard the acronym "JNBN." When asked if [REDACTED] has used the "N-word, she stated [REDACTED] stated she has never heard a supervisor use the "N-word."
[REDACTED] was asked how she feels about people she works with behaving like this She stated [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if she was aware of anyone making fun of Hispanic or Hmong officers. She added that [REDACTED] gets made fun of, but that it's in front of him, [REDACTED]. She stated she has never heard anything mean of spiteful behind his back. When asked about the comments made on the back wall while waiting for a squad, and a nightshift officer made a comment about, "Another one of those [guys.]" She said she doesn't recall hearing the comment made. She did not answer when asked if this would surprise her that this was potentially said, commenting, "I don't know." She commented that if they were not speaking in English, would that matter as it relates to making racially derogatory comments, or is that they meant not being able to speak very well in English.
[REDACTED] was asked if she has ever heard any racial comments towards the community, the "N-word," or "JNBN?" [REDACTED] stated she honestly has never heard this come out of anyone's mouth, unless a citizen stated something or had to repeat it in a professional sense. She added she was aware of the comment made by [REDACTED] at his new hire party, which he was later disciplined for.
[REDACTED] stated she [REDACTED] but is not around them when this activity was going on. She stated if she knew this stuff was going on, she would not hang around any of them, [REDACTED].
When asked if there was anyone else to talk to, she replied we should talk with [REDACTED] to get her perspective, too. She explained that she felt bad, "That if this stuff was really happening, and we say it is," that she feels bad.
When asked if there was anyone else that are being picked-on, besides the normal "being on the wrong channel," specifically the mean stuff; she replied [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] asked if she felt that things got carried away on nights, from her vantage point, and if there is an issue, she replied [REDACTED]. When asked if there is a cure or solution to it, she said [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if investigators should talk to [REDACTED] about harassment, which she replied, "Yes." She also discussed how [REDACTED] reminded her of herself and that [REDACTED].
Investigators asked [REDACTED] how she would feel if a small group of male officers, had taken it upon themselves to banter back-and-forth about other officers via the MDTs, about mean and spiteful things. She stated [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] then mentions, on her own, that she, "Wants to be truthful and I am being truthful," and, "That it sucks to say things," about [REDACTED], "Was really, really hard." She worries that she is appearing to be bullying by telling on [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] then stated that [REDACTED], "Was so accepted right away," [REDACTED]. She felt that [REDACTED] added that [REDACTED].
[REDACTED] was asked if [REDACTED] deserve to be treated the way she was. She stated [REDACTED]. She again said, "That it sucks to have to admit that, and sucks to be in this position. Don't want to do her, nor anyone else a disservice. Not fair for her as a human to be treated unfairly."
She then stated she felt [REDACTED]. She brought up that [REDACTED] would pull her aside an try and figure things out, if there was something going on. She stated [REDACTED] was then asked if she was the Chief, how she would attempt to make things better. She explained [REDACTED] also explained that initially, she was not a fan of supervisors showing up on her calls, but she has since found this almost refreshing, knowing that calls are being handled correctly.
She was asked if she felt officers were acting together to create a hostile work environment and if she felt that discipline was warranted. She stated that [REDACTED].
She then asked about [REDACTED]. She understood that he was involved in this investigation and wanted to know if he was going to receive some repercussions. She also asked about shift moves as it relates to punishments. [REDACTED] was told that this will all depend on the outcome of the case and that this was the Chief's decision.
[REDACTED] added that Ofc. Masiak [REDACTED]. She also stated that Lt. Robert J. Korth [REDACTED] reminded of the importance of making the right choices in such a highly visible public job.
[REDACTED] was reminded that she is not to discuss the interview or any part of this investigation. She was thanked and reminded to continue to do a good job representing the Green Bay Police Department.
Interview with Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt
On January 4, 2017, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt was interviewed in reference to his possible involvement in the harassment issues on nightshift. His Union Representative [REDACTED] accompanied him.
Ofc. Eickholt was given a copy of the Complaint Against Personnel and was also given copies of the alleged policy violations:
- 314.3.1 - Discrimination
- 320.4 - General Standards
- 320.5.3 - Discrimination, Oppression or Favoritism
- 320.5.9 - Conduct
- 1027.4 - Prohibited Speech, Expression and Conduct
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he had any knowledge of officers on the nightshift being bullied and harassed. He replied that [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if these "guys" have a belief that women shouldn't be working on the nightshift. He said "No," [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED].
When asked if he had any knowledge of any officers saying that females don't belong on nightshift, [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]. When asked if he ever reported these issues to a supervisor or an FTO, he said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he had ever been the victim of harassment. He said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said he [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if there have been bullying, harassing and intimidating MDT messages sent out about officers and supervisors. [REDACTED].
Questions were asked of Ofc. Eickholt about the men's locker room and whether he has heard harassing, bullying, or unprofessional behavior from officers. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED].
When asked which officer usually starts the conversation about [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt was asked if it was possible that all of the stories about [REDACTED] were only rumors and never really happened, and the stories had just got out-of-hand. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt did say [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he had any knowledge of [REDACTED] confronting Ofc. Masiak and telling him to stop the behavior. He said [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if any of the conversations, banter, or rumors could connect him to harassment, bullying, or intimidation before roll-calls or during/after his shift, he replied, "Yeah." He said that [REDACTED]. He said it's not only about her but also about [REDACTED]. He said that [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said that he, [REDACTED] have all said thing about [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt also said [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED].
According to Ofc. Eickholt, [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked questions about [REDACTED] and if he thought she had been the victim of harassment. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked about a police call [REDACTED] that he was on and Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin had driven by in her squad heading into the station. Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt said they were wondering why she was, "Cruising Washington Street." Ofc. Eickholt admitted that they made a, "Rather quick judgment," about what was happening. [REDACTED]. He said he later apologized to her about it.
Ofc. Eickholt [REDACTED]. He was asked if officers felt pressure not to leave their district and he said [REDACTED].
Message Sent To/From Date Subject Victim TE1 C. Masiak 06/14/2016 Shocker Ofc. Dantoin? has the most available minutes! [REDACTED] IDK whats more shocking that she was the most available minutes or that she took a call at the PD!
TE2 M. Rahn 07/08/2016 Maybe Ofc. Dantoin? should take that...oh that's right, [REDACTED] shes at [REDACTED]. don't worry, [REDACTED] is there too. Unreal.
TE3 C. Masiak 12/15/2016 Ofc. Dantoin? is at Dousman Express? (Convenience Store)...Shocker! [REDACTED] K. Bahl is she there often?, ya, cant stand it!
TE4 K. Bahl 09/15/2015 Exchange with K. Bahl: K. Brester Ofc. Dantoin? must be well rested from last night... C. Masiak or she saw her numbers from last year. maybe both. haha.
TE5 C. Masiak 11/18/2015 and heres another call where [REDACTED] shows up but does not Shift Cmdr. K. Brester get out of his car! R. Korth Look at the calls in waiting...even when he is on the desk he P. Xiong still manages to create call! M. Opicka T. Marquardt
TE6 K. Bahl Unknown I hate working D. All officers in District D
TE7 R. Korth 06/27/2015 Exchange with R. Korth: [REDACTED] why does she yell on the radio? IDK why does she do a lot of things.
TE8 K. Brester 06/27/2015 Exchange with K. Brester: [REDACTED] C. Masiak I cant take it anymore, someone needs to tell Ofc. Dantoin? about F4 (computer key) to update her status and not goover the air. about going to the county. You bet I will.
TE9 K. Brester 06/27/2015 if I get a call on S Wash (Bar District) and Ofc. Dantoin? [REDACTED] is my cover...you should probably jump the call for her...
TE10 B. Stanton 06/08/2015 Exchange with B. Strouf: Anti- Can you see who is with brester. Supervisor rgr, wonder what shes doing here. enough supervisors here. ya...they are doing a lot of union work lol.
TE11 M. Rahn Unknown Ofc. Dantoin? is 76 from Dousman/Oakland (Convenience Store) [REDACTED] haha Shocker. [REDACTED] is doing union work. LOL taser deployment. or he is going to get into a foot chase and then go on a track.
TE12 C. Masiak 03/18/2016 at least shes on her side of the river...before I saw her driving [REDACTED] down [REDACTED]. that's close to Bravo?. when I asked what she was doing she said she was on a battery call... her status however showed that she was not on any call. kids these days.
TE13 Dispatch 04/02/2016 Exchange with Dispatcher: [REDACTED] Ugh! whats wrong. she can see the calls drop...knows they are in her sector. hah maybe if has worked a full week she would be better LOL! and didn't take so many person breaks. haha I wish I could take 'personal breaks'."TE4" = Ofc. Eickholt said that there is an "on-going joke" that if Ofc. Dantoin? calls out with a lot of traffic stops early in the evening, that there is a distinct possibility that she is going home early (taking part of the shift off). He said that [REDACTED] was not part of the joke.
"TE5" = Message about [REDACTED] and calling out with traffic stops. [REDACTED].
"TE6" = Ofc. Eickholt hates working District D.
"TE7" = Had no idea what message was about, could possibly have been when suspect was kicking out squad window and she got on the radio asking for help. Ofc. Eickholt said it took a while for [REDACTED] to "settle in" on the shift.
"TE8" = Message was initiated by Ofc. Kurt D. Brester and responded back by Ofc. R. Casey Masiak. Ofc. Eickholt was only recipient of message thread and never responded back. No policy violation.
"TE9" = [REDACTED]
"TE10" = Exchange with Lt. Brad A. Strouf in reference to his perception of supervisors doing union work.
"TE11" = Exchange in reference to his perception of supervisors doing union work.
"TE12" = Message was in reference to how Ofc. Dantoin? does her job.
"TE13" = Ofc. Eickholt was having a conversation with police dispatcher [REDACTED] and sharing [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt said he takes full responsibility for his messages. He added that he knows they are all potentially public, but when he initially sent them, he was having a quasi-private conversation with other officers. He admitted that he participated in behavior that would directly or indirectly be considered harassment involving [REDACTED], but added he has also done this behavior, "With numerous other people on shift." Ofc. Eickholt said it was a poor decision on his part to have done it.
When asked if there was adequate supervision on the nightshift, Ofc. Eickholt said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he had ever made any sexually-based comments towards or about co-workers. He replied, "Yes." He volunteered an incident (believed to have happened approximately December 2016) where he was in the Shift Commander's office with [REDACTED].
According to Ofc. Eickholt, [REDACTED] was telling the group about a girl at some recent training and then seeing her again in a video store. He described her as a, "Knock out." To which [REDACTED] made a comment about, "Taking the girl to the adult section of the video store." Eickholt said he made a comment about how he would like to, "Bend the girl over the return table," to have sexual relations with her. [REDACTED] counseled Ofc. Eickholt after his comment and told him that he did not want to hear him talk like that again. While this incident happened, [REDACTED] was assigned [REDACTED] outside the Shift Commander's office. Ofc. Eickholt said his comment was inappropriate, and on his next shift he apologized to [REDACTED] in the locker room. [REDACTED] told Ofc. Eickholt that he later talked to [REDACTED] and she had not heard the comment.
Ofc. Eickholt was asked about an incident involving sexual comments made about [REDACTED] while nightshift officers were standing against the wall outside of the police department at shift change. He was informed that other officers were present when the comments about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. The specific comment of [REDACTED], "Ejaculating on [REDACTED] face," and that she, "Uses that same face to kiss her kids," was presented to Ofc. Eickholt.
He was told that he was present at the time and was asked if he made the comment. Ofc. Eickholt replied "If I was there, I was there." He was then told that he had been identified as either making the comment about [REDACTED] ejaculating on [REDACTED] face, or he made the comment about her going home and using the same face to kiss her kids. Ofc. Eickholt replied, "If I made the comment, I made the comment." He was then asked if this was the type of comment that he normally would have said, he replied, "Prior to this, Yeah." He was asked a follow-up question if he had made the comment or not. Ofc. Eickholt replied, "If somebody told you that I said that, and I was there, and I was present and taking part in the conversation... then I did." Ofc. Eickholt was told that he should not admit to something if he didn't make the comment. He responded that he didn't remember saying the comment, but again said, "If I was there, I was there." He offered to take responsibility for the statement because others had said he made the comment.
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he had made any comments in a sexual nature at all reference the [REDACTED]. He said, "Yeah... Yes, I have." He said that he could not remember anything specific about them and said that when he had been making the statements, [REDACTED] never would have been made in front of [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked about the locker room incident between [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He was asked if he recalled [REDACTED] telling [REDACTED] to, "Shut the f*ck up." [REDACTED].
The comments made on the wall at shift change about [REDACTED] ("Oh, great. We hired another one of those [guys].") were explained to Ofc. Eickholt. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt was informed that Ofc. R. Casey Masiak had made this comment. He was asked if he was surprised by this, [REDACTED]. He was asked if he has ever heard Ofc. Masiak make other racially-based comments in the past. [REDACTED]. When asked if he had ever heard Ofc. Masiak use the "N-word," [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he had ever been present when supervisors were involved in racially-based comments or actions. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt said that both he and [REDACTED] have both mocked the way [REDACTED] walks. When asked about the "[REDACTED] Walk," Ofc. Eickholt said he knew what it was and that [REDACTED] has big thighs and walks with a waddle. He responded with the following to answers:
"I've observed it... I know what you're talking about... I've made comments to [REDACTED] about it when [REDACTED], but I can't recall somebody specifically doing it... I'm sure I've done it... I'm sure other people have done it... I'm sure other people have said I was present when they did it, and that I had laughed... If that's the information you have, I'm trying to own up to it, but I don't recall."
He was asked if he had been present in the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Robert J. Korth did the "[REDACTED] Walk." Ofc. Eickholt replied [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked if he ever witnessed anyone doing the "[REDACTED] Walk" and made derogatory "monkey or ape sounds" at the same time. He responded [REDACTED].
After taking a short break and conferring with his Union Representative, Ofc. Eickholt told investigators the following: [REDACTED].
When asked again about Lt. Robert J. Korth making "ape or monkey noises" while doing the "[REDACTED] Walk," Ofc. Eickholt responded [REDACTED]. He said [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt agreed that the monkey and ape noise would be considered racist and inappropriate.
When asked about the Shift Commander's office when Lt. Robert J. Korth is assigned as Shift Commander, Ofc. Eickholt agreed [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt said he has heard of the term "[REDACTED] Walk" and "[REDACTED] Walker," [REDACTED].
Questions were asked of Ofc. Eickholt about the alleged incident of Ofc. Masiak not returning Ofc. Dantoin's handcuffs after a call the two were on together, and it was believed that Ofc. Eickholt was present in the Shift Commander's office. He said [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]
When asked if he thought the actions and comments made against [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were appropriate, Ofc. Eickholt agreed that they weren't. When asked if he thought there was a hostile work environment directed towards [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] on the nightshift, he replied [REDACTED]. Ofc. Eickholt explained [REDACTED].
Ofc. Eickholt was asked for his opinion if he believes that behavior has gotten worse when the captains were removed. [REDACTED].
According to Ofc. Eickholt, he said [REDACTED] gets picked-on in MDT messages. He cited that he and Lt. Robert J. Korth have both done it. Ofc. Eickholt said that it's not appropriate for one supervisor to be making fun of another supervisor. [REDACTED].
Interview with Ofc. Scott M. Salzmann
On February 3, 2017, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators met with Ofc. Scott M. Salzmann in reference to Internal Affairs Investigation #16-542I. Ofc. Salzmann was with Union Representative [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was issued a Complaint Against Personnel, which included alleged policy violations:
- 320.4 - Standards of Conduct, General Standards
- 320.5.3 - Discrimination, Oppression or Favoritism
- 314.3.1 - Discrimination Prohibited/Discrimination
- 1027.4 - Prohibited Speech, Expression and Conduct
Ofc. Salzmann was also issued the Administrative Warning, which was read to him and he acknowledged the warning and signed the form. Copies of the four policies were provided to Ofc. Salzmann and he was provided time to review these policies and was able to provide his understanding of the policies, which were consistent with the intent of the policy.
Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he knew of anyone on the nightshift who had been involved in intimidation or harassment of fellow employees. He was asked if he knew of who was a victim of harassment and who was participating in these behaviors. [REDACTED]. He was asked if this information was ever brought to the attention of a supervisor [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked specifically about any bullying or harassment involving [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann [REDACTED]. He was asked who was talking about performance issues with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. He was asked why he thought that Lt. Steven Mahoney asked him to talk to Ofc. R. Casey Masiak and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester [REDACTED]. He was asked how Ofc. Masiak and Ofc. Brester responded to him when he talked about the issues of officers not wanting to go on calls with them [REDACTED]. Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he felt that he was ever the victim of harassment and he said, "No."
During the course of the investigation, investigators were told that there is a mentality on the nightshift that new officers have to earn their spot on the "team." [REDACTED]. Ofc. Salzmann said that he does not think that he has ever said this to an officer on a solo patrol. Ofc. Salzmann said that he has said, "Eyes open, mouth shut, and work hard." [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was told that the issue of not being part of the team has become a concern as this investigation has developed and there is a concern that this is related to the bullying and harassment. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked to put himself in the shoes of a new officer who had earned a four-year degree, had attended the Recruit Academy, been through rigorous background and hiring process, our FTO Academy and FTO program, and then they get on a shift and they hear the conversation about how they wear the patch, but they are not part of the team until we tell you that you are part of this shift. He was asked if this could be construed as bullying or hazing. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he was aware of any MDT messages that he felt were inappropriate or bullying. [REDACTED].
A review of Ofc. Salzmann's MDT messages showed that he was not particularly involved in harassment or bullying of other officers. However, several inappropriate messages were located that where in violation of policy. Ofc. Salzmann was using words, phrases, or abbreviations that were not in accordance with policy.
The MDT messages that Ofc. Salzmann sent or received and responded to, were reviewed with him and he was able to explain many of the messages. However, the following messages in particular involve inappropriate content that where in violation of policy or were in poor taste:
Message Sent To/From Date Subject Victim Policy was Violated SS1 K. Brester 11/28/2015 U lost bro? [REDACTED] Yes
SS2 J. Bilskey 12/19/2015 I hate you [REDACTED] Yes
SS3 J. Bilskey 12/24/2015 Awwww....how fitting...snow on Christmas N/A Yes B. Krueger eve...now time to take ppl to jail Yep.....merry effing Christmas
SS4 K. Brester 03/03/2016 [REDACTED] is the other way bro [REDACTED] Yes No seriously....it is to the north
SS5 K. Brester 03/11/2016 U lost bro? [REDACTED] Yes
SS6 J. Bilskey 03/19/2016 Newest car in the fleet and the power seat GBPD Yes is broken.....people really suck at this place
SS7 J. Schilling 03/20/2016 I don't think you will ever get used to it..... [REDACTED] Yes i still want to knock his teeth in sometimes
SS8 K. Brester 05/07/2016 Ha....was just typin...you lost bro [REDACTED] Yes
SS9 Brown Co. 07/01/2016 I am surprised it made it to end of shift! N/A Yes Dispatch .....some asses woulda been beat
SS10 K. Brester 07/02/2016 Lost bro? [REDACTED] Yes
SS11 K. Brester 07/03/2016 U lost bro? [REDACTED] Yes
SS12 K. Brester 08/02/2016 That's 1 [REDACTED] Yes J. Bilskey
SS13 J. Bilskey 10/26/2016 U lost bro? [REDACTED] Yes weird how [REDACTED] still on admin... even tho mtg is over. That medical condition is a bit of a stretch
SS14 J. Bilskey 11/01/2016 U lost bro? [REDACTED] YesOf the messages that were reviewed with Ofc. Salzmann, eight of the messages (SS1, SS4, SS5, SS8, SS10, SS11, SS12, SS13, and SS14) had content of, "U lost bro?," in them. Through interviews with other officers it was discovered that Ofc. Salzmann is identified by other officers has holding some sort of leadership role on the shift. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked about the, "U lost bro?," messages and he said that it was a running joke between him [REDACTED] when he would drive through his [REDACTED] District sector.
[REDACTED]. Ofc. Salzmann was reminded that we are all part of the team and we can all patrol the areas of the City.
Ofc. Salzmann was asked about message "SS2" as it referred to a message he sent to Ofc. Jeremy Bilskey that said, "I hate you." It was explained to Ofc. Salzmann that we understand that has a friendship with Ofc. Bilskey, but by typing this, and someone from the outside the department sees this, they would be concerned as to why one officer is telling another that he hates him. Ofc. Salzmann understood the concern with this and the policy violation related to computer usage.
Ofc. Salzmann was asked about message "SS3" that was sent to Ofc. Brian Krueger and Ofc. Bilskey. The message referred to it snowing on Christmas Eve and now it was time to take people to jail. He also typed, "merry effing Christmas," in this message. Ofc. Salzmann understood the concern with this and the policy violation related to sending these types of messages.
Ofc. Salzmann was asked about message "SS6" that he sent to Ofc. Bilskey. It appeared that Ofc. Salzmann was talking about a squad car seat that was broken and typed in his MDT message, "...people really suck at this place." He was asked if talking about his co-workers, other officers and employees of the Green Bay Police Department like this would be disruptive to the efficiency of the department and he agreed with this.
Ofc. Salzmann was asked about message "SS7" as it was related to a message he sent to Ofc. Jeffrey Schilling and not getting used to working with [REDACTED]. Ofc. Salzmann typed, "...i still want to knock his teeth in sometimes." Ofc. Salzmann was told that this banter between officers is the thing that the investigation is about. Ofc. Salzmann understood that this kind of message would disrupt the efficiency of the department as it relates to policy violations.
Ofc. Salzmann was asked about message "SS9" as it related to his message, "I am surprised it made it to the end of shift!...some asses woulda been beat." Ofc. Salzmann said that this was about a dispatcher who had made a birthday cake for his kid that was brought into the PD. Ofc. Salzmann said that he was surprised that the cake made it to the end of the shift without anyone touching it. He was asked if he understood that the, "some asses woulda been beat," portion of the message was inappropriate and would not look good in the eyes of the public, and he agreed with this.
Ofc. Salzmann was then directed to message "SS13." This message started out with Ofc. Salzmann sending Ofc. Bilskey the message, "U lost bro?" The message continues on with a message from Ofc. Salzmann sending another message to Ofc. Bilskey, "weird how [REDACTED] still on admin... even tho mtg is over." Ofc. Salzmann continues with this message with, "that medical issue is a little bit of a stretch." The roster for this shift on October 26, 2016 was checked and [REDACTED] was [REDACTED]. Ofc. Salzmann said that [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was directed to the policy on discrimination based on a medical condition. Ofc. Salzmann was reminded that this investigation involves the fact that officers were being critical of [REDACTED]. Ofc. Salzmann knew about [REDACTED], but still used this in a MDT message that was in poor taste and a violation of policy.
This was the end of the MDT messages that were reviewed with Ofc. Salzmann. He was asked if he had any further questions about the review of his MDT messages and he did not.
He was told that as a result of the information that was obtained during the investigation, the Professional Standards Division (LOL!) was directed to review all MDT messages from nightshift and this was why we were discussing these particular messages with him.
Based on the review of the MDT messages with Ofc. Salzmann, it was determined that many of his messages were in poor taste, unprofessional, and/or inappropriate. Ofc. Salzmann used inappropriate words and made inappropriate comments in his MDT messages with words like, "... merry effing Christmas," "... knock his teeth out," "... asses would have been beat," and "... bravo is getting its ass kicked right now." Of more concern is that Ofc. Salzmann sent a disparaging remark about [REDACTED], "that medical issue is a little bit of a stretch."
Investigators then began to discuss topics of behaviors that Ofc. Salzmann may or may not have been involved in, and the behaviors of other officers on the nightshift. Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he had witnessed anything that could be construed as harassment or bullying on the nightshift. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he generally feels that there is adequate supervision on the nightshift. [REDACTED] asked how long he thinks that there has not been inadequate supervision on nightshift [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked what he thought about Lt. Robert J. Korth [REDACTED].
He said [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he was ever seen anything with [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] that was a safety concern or performance concerns [REDACTED].
Ofc. Salzmann was asked if he has ever heard or used the term "Black? Walker" and he said that he has not heard of this and has never used this term.
He was asked if he has ever used the "N-word" and he said he has not. He was asked if he was familiar with the term "JNBN" and he said that he has heard this phrase and may have used this term. Ofc. Salzmann could not name a specific time when he used this term, but said it was used years ago out of frustration related to some chaotic incident. He estimated that he used it seven plus years ago.
Ofc. Salzmann said that he has never heard of the "[REDACTED] Walk," and did not know what it was. Ofc. Salzmann said [REDACTED].
This ended the interview with Ofc. Salzmann and he had no further information to provide. Ofc. Salzmann answered all questions in what appeared to be in a truthful and thoughtful manner.
Interview with Ofc. Kevin J. Bahl
On February 17, 2017, Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators interviews Ofc. Kevin J. Bahl in reference to his involvement in the ongoing internal investigation as to his conduct related to harassment, standards of conduct violations and/or discrimination and prohibited speech.
[REDACTED] of the Green Bay Professional Police Association (GBPPA) represented Ofc. Bahl. Ofc. Bahl was asked to report to the Professional Standards Division (LOL!).
When he reported to the Professional Standards Division (LOL!), he was provided with copies of the Formal Complaint, the Administrative Warning and copies of the three policies alleged to have been violated. Ofc. Bahl was given time to review the complaint against personnel, the administrative warning and the policies he is suspected of violating.
During this interview, Ofc. Bahl was directed to the formal complaint against personnel, copies of the policies that he has alleged to have violated, and the Administrative Warning and Statement of Employee Rights. Ofc. Bahl was read the Administrative Warning and he said that he understood the statement, and then the four policies were reviewed with Ofc. Bahl. These policies included:
- 314.3.1 - Discrimination
- 320.4 - General Standards
- 320.5.3 - Discrimination, Oppression or Favoritism
- 320.5.9 - Conduct
- 1027.4 - Prohibited Speech, Expression and Conduct
Ofc. Bahl was informed that the results of the this investigation would be turned over to the Chief and the Chief would determine the level of discipline, if any. He was told that he could take a break and confer with his Union Representative at any time and he said that he understood that he needed to answer all questions truthfully and completely.
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he had talked with anyone in reference to the investigation and he said that he talked to [REDACTED] and may have talked to others in general about how long their interview was and about the fact that the investigation revolved around MDT messages. He said he did not talk to anyone about specific questions related to the investigation.
Ofc. Bahl confirmed that he was given access to the Green Bay Police Department Policy Manual (Lexipol) and he understood that he must be knowledgeable about the policies. He also said that if he did not understand a policy that he knew he needed to talk with a supervisor for clarification.
Ofc. Bahl requested that each policy section related to the alleged violations against him be reviewed with him. The above policy sections were read to him word-for-word at the request of Ofc. Bahl.
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he understood the policies that he is to have allegedly violated and he said that he does understand the policies and made remarks as to his understanding of each policy. Ofc. Bahl's response to his understanding of each of these policies was based on him reading portions of the policy back to investigators.
Ofc. Bahl was asked to express his understanding of the policies in his own words, however, he responded by reading portions of the policy back to investigators and appeared to be unable to express in his own words what each policy means.
At this point in the interview of Ofc. Bahl, he was told that we would be reviewing MDT messages that he had sent. 17 messages were selected as being of concern and appeared to be in violation of policy or policies. The following is a listing of MDT messages that were reviewed with Ofc. Bahl:
Agreed that Message Sent To/From Date Subject Victim Policy was Violated KB1 M. Rahn 06/12/2015 [REDACTED] Forgot what time it is [REDACTED] Possible
KB2 M. Rahn 12/28/2015 3-4 people on an EM-1 at the hospital [REDACTED] Yes C. Masiak T. Eickholt K. Brester
KB3 M. Rahn 12/28/2015 [REDACTED] LOL [REDACTED] Yes
KB4 M. Rahn 01/06/2016 Guess who is off tomorrow [REDACTED] Yes
KB5 E. Nespoli 01/12/2016 Everyone can log off 5 mins early except Bongle's Ego Yes S. Dantoin Bravo? units
KB6 M. Rahn 02/22/2016 NOPE. I'm [REDACTED] and I do what I want [REDACTED] Yes
KB7 M. Rahn 03/30/2016 How did [REDACTED] not take that call?! [REDACTED] Yes
KB8 T. Behn 07/24/2016 Why would [REDACTED] get the bearcat? [REDACTED] Yes M. Rahn
KB9 M. Rahn 11/01/2016 That kid is special [REDACTED] Yes
KB10 M. Rahn 07/24/2016 Driving the f back home N/A Yes
KB11 M. Rahn 07/08/2016 Next up [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Yes
KB12 M. Rahn 01/05/2016 Solid effort tonight [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Yes
KB13 M. Rahn 12/20/2015 [REDACTED] went home early. [REDACTED] Yes shocker who would have guessed.
KB14 M. Rahn 12/13/2015 I hear the packers r looking to pick [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Yes up next year. this sucks.
KB15 M. Rahn 11/19/2015 When did mason/military become [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] Yes who knows. I thought taylor and Larson was.
KB16 M. Rahn 10/25/2015 Cause that's what [REDACTED] does lol [REDACTED] Yes
KB17 M. Rahn 08/15/2015 Look like david is Charlie now.... N/A YesOfc. Bahl admitted that 16 of the 17 messages that he initiated or responded to were in violation of policy and negatively affected the effectiveness and/or efficiency of the Green Bay Police Department. Ofc. Bahl clarified that the message "KB1" where he sent the message that, "[REDACTED] Forgot what time it is," was not a slam on [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl feels that he has a good relationship with [REDACTED] and he would not be offended by this. Ofc. Bahl was asked why he didn't include [REDACTED] in on this message and he said that he thought that [REDACTED] was busy and he probably wouldn't get the message as the reason for not sending him the message.
Ofc. Bahl was told that even if [REDACTED] was busy at the time, he would eventually be able to see the message and it would have likely negatively affected the effectiveness and/or efficiency of [REDACTED] or the Green Bay Police Department.
Ofc. Bahl was told that communication, which could be viewed as negative by a co-worker or the public and was behind the back of a fellow officer, was not appropriate. Ofc. Bahl acknowledged the fact that communications behind the back of a fellow officer was not appropriate, however, he feels that his relationship and friendship with [REDACTED] would not be negatively impacted by this message.
Investigators directed Ofc. Bahl to message "KB2." He was read the MDT message string and asked to tell investigators what he was referring to in these messages. Ofc. Bahl was initially trying to justify the message and in general, he was trying to justify all of his messages as "no big deal."
In particular with message "KB2," he said that he was not being negative toward any of the officers and again said that he had a good professional or personal relationships with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] did not really know [REDACTED] that well and [REDACTED].
He was again asked why he did not include these officers in the message and he did not have an answer other than to say that it was only a comment in reference to "admin" under-staffing Charlie? District on a regular basis and how busy Charlie? District is. He also referred to the fact that statistics would show that Charlie? is always the busiest district. He was asked if he had the statistics and he said he did not. He was asked if he had done a study on this and he said that he did not. Ofc. Bahl was also told that sending this message had nothing to do with how the "admin" staffed Charlie? District. He was told that this was based on the staffing agreement in the contract and was not something that would be debated in this setting but could be discussed when the contract was opened for negotiation in a few years.
Ofc. Bahl was asked about his professional or personal relationship with [REDACTED] and he said he had a good working relationship with [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl was asked if this was truly the case, because he would see that there was a pattern of who he decided to target in his inappropriate and unprofessional MDT messages. Ofc. Bahl was also asked why he would send this message to Ofc. Michael P. Rahn, Ofc. Timothy E. Eickholt, Ofc. R. Casey Masiak, and Ofc. Kurt D. Brester when in fact; these officers would not be able to do anything about the number of officers on certain calls or staffing levels in Charlie? District. [REDACTED]. He was asked what he should have done if he had a concern about officer's activities or staffing levels, and he said that he understood that he should have talked to a supervisor.
During a nearly 30-minute conversation related to messages "KB1" and "KB2," Ofc. Bahl continued to minimize and made attempts to justify the messages he sent out. He was hanging on and evaluating every word that was in the messages. Ofc. Bahl was told that it appeared that he was trying to justify the messages and the fact of the matter was that the messages should not have been sent in the first place. Ofc. Bahl made statements that he was not sure if the officers he was referencing in the first two message that were discussed, would or would not be upset about the fact he was talking behind their backs.
Ofc. Bahl was not willing to accept that the messages that he sent would likely make others upset.
Ofc. Bahl decided that he wanted to make the comment that others have sent messages because they were "all-car" messages. Ofc. Bahl was told that if it was an all-car, and he know about the message, that this was different from what he was doing. He was no including those that he was ridiculing or talking about in his messages, so they did not have the opportunity to address the issues with him because they know nothing about it.
At 29 minutes into Ofc. Bahl's interview GBPPA Union Representative [REDACTED] asked for a break. Investigators then reconvened with Ofc. Bahl and [REDACTED] approximately 15 minutes later and Ofc. Bahl was again directed with to message "KB1" and he again started down the path of making excuses about sending this message and he feels that this message is not a policy violation, because of his relationship with [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was then directed back to message "KB2" and Ofc. Bahl again continued to make excuses that he has a good relationship with the officers he was talking about in the message. He said that it really depends on the comments that were made, and what was being talking about behind these officer's backs, as to determine if it was offensive or not.
Investigators continued to discuss messages "KB1" and "KB2" for one hour and eight minutes. During this time Ofc. Bahl did all he could to minimize and justify his messages. He went from blaming the administration for staffing issues, that he was not targeting anyone specific, that statistics show that Charlie? District is always busy, that he has good relationships with the officers he was talking about, that someone was not logged in so he would not be able to include the person he was talking about, or the fact that they were busy and would not see the message until later as to why he would not send the message to them.
In the end, Ofc. Bahl was told that the message he sent should not have been sent in the first place, and he agreed. However, Ofc. Bahl attempted to justify his messages until I directed him to the question of, "Did this message disrupt, or impact the efficiency of the department?," and he agreed that it did. He was also asked if this was a policy violation and he agreed that it was.
Ofc. Bahl was directed to messages "KB3" and "KB4" how it pertained to off-time usage of [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl was asked why he cared how or when Ofc. Dantoin? was using her off-time. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl was asked why he was worried about Ofc. Dantoin's? off-time usage and what [REDACTED] could do about it. [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl said that he does not think that Ofc. Dantoin? would appreciate the message about her. Ofc. Bahl agreed that these messages were a violation of policy.
Ofc. Bahl made a statement that this has nothing to do with gender, but had to do about Ofc. Dantoin's? work performance and safety issues. He was asked where in his job description that he was in a position to evaluate job performance of another officer. He was asked if he was a Field Training Officer (FTO) and he replied, "No" He was asked if he was a supervisor and he said, "No." He was asked if he reported the performance issues and safety concerns to a supervisor and [REDACTED]. He was told of the process to first report to his immediate Supervisor, then Shift District Captain, then the Commander and finally the Chief of Police. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was then directed to message "KB5" and asked why he felt that he had the authority to determine who could and could not log-off at the end of their shift. Ofc. Bahl was asked if it was his responsibility as a patrol officer to tell officers when they should go on calls and when they should clear calls, and he said that is was not his job function to do this, but he has cleared officers from calls when they were not needed for a call he was on. He was asked if that was what we were talking about and he admitted that it was different. Ofc. Bahl was asked if this message was a policy violation and he said that is was a policy violation.
Ofc. Bahl was then directed to message "KB6" and asked what this message was about and if it was appropriate. This message was in reference in [REDACTED] and his comment of [REDACTED] does what she wants. He was asked if [REDACTED] was aware of this message being sent out about her and he said that it was about [REDACTED] police style. He was asked if this was a policy violation and he said that he took responsibility for sending the message and it was a policy violation.
Ofc. Bahl was asked about message "KB7" and why he sent a message about [REDACTED] and he was asked if he talked to a supervisor or anyone about safety concerns and performance with [REDACTED] and he said that he did not. He was asked if this is a policy violation and he said that this was a policy violation.
He was then directed to message "KB8" and asked about why he sent then message in reference to Fight Club, an officer getting the BearCat at the end of his shift, and calling off cover. He was asked if any of these messages had anything to do with police work and Ofc. Bahl was asked if this was police related and appropriate and he said it was not and it was a police violation.
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he remembered message "KB9." He was directed to the portion of the message where he indicated that [REDACTED] "special." He was asked if this was an appropriate message and if it was a policy violation. He agreed that it was not appropriate and was a policy violation.
Ofc. Bahl was asked about message "KB10" as is related to an incident in De Pere and listening to a tactical call going on in De Pere. This message also had a mention of the Fight Club merit-based system and, "Driving the f back home." He was asked why he was being critical of the De Pere Police Department and why he was worried about what was going on in De Pere and was not worried about what he was supposed to be doing in Green Bay. [REDACTED]. He admitted that the comments about the merit-based system had to do with the new contract and also admitted that, "Driving the f back home," meant drive the "f*ck" back home. He was again asked if this was appropriate and a policy violation and he agreed that this was not appropriate and was a policy violation.
He was then asked to look at message "KB11" as it relates to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] not finishing her shift. Ofc. Bahl was asked why he was concerned with [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] taking off-time. He was asked if anyone that he sent the message to could do anything about the amount of time that these officers take off and he said they could do nothing. He was asked if he was seeing a pattern of behavior and messaging about [REDACTED] and now [REDACTED] and he said, "Yes." He was asked if this was a policy violation and he said, "Yes."
Ofc. Bahl was asked about message "KB12" as it relates to [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl had a message string with Ofc. Michael P. Rahn in reference to [REDACTED] having a "solid effort" and also referenced [REDACTED] as well. He was asked if he understood the pattern of focusing on what Ofc. Dantoin? and her usage of sick-time or off-time. Ofc. Bahl acknowledged that he sees what I was talking about in terms of this pattern. He also acknowledged that this was a policy violation.
Ofc. Bahl was directed to message "KB13" as it relates to [REDACTED] going home early. Ofc. Bahl was asked if he knew who [REDACTED] was and he said probably [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl cited the sick-time usage policy in this message and said that supervisors shall monitor sick-time usage and take action. Ofc. Bahl was asked if Ofc. Rahn was able to do anything about another officer's sick-time or off-time usage and he said that he should have talked to a supervisor [REDACTED] referring to [REDACTED]. He was asked if he felt that [REDACTED] would be happy that he was talking behind her back and he said, "No," that he did not feel she would be happy and this was a policy violation.
Ofc. Bahl was then directed to message "KB14" as it relates to a message about [REDACTED] "punting" a call for service, which refers to [REDACTED] not doing what he should on a call. Ofc. Bahl was also directed to the section of the message that he typed, "this sucks." He was told that this was certainly unprofessional and asked if it could disrupt the effectiveness and efficiency of the Green Bay Police Department and he agreed that it would not look good in the eyes of the public.
Ofc. Bahl was directed to message "KB15" as it relates to a message about [REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl was able to identify immediately that this message was about [REDACTED]. This was another example of the continuation of focusing on what [REDACTED] is doing and Ofc. Bahl agreed.
Ofc. Bahl was then asked about message "KB16" as it relates to [REDACTED] put herself on a call and that the new people don't get it. He was asked what the, "wait for it, wait for it," was about and he said it was in reference to staying away from an area where detectives were performing an operation and he thought that [REDACTED] put herself on a crime prevention call in this area. He was asked if these message behind [REDACTED] back would disrupt the efficiency and effectiveness of the Green Bay Police Department and he agreed that this would.
Ofc. Bahl was then asked about message "KB17" as it relates to a discussion about [REDACTED] District officers and a reference to [REDACTED] who sweats the small stuff. He was asked if this was appropriate to talk about another officer behind his back and he said that this was not appropriate.
This was the end of the review of the messaging from Ofc. Bahl.
Investigators then discussed the pattern of messaging that occurred and his focus on the females officers and the Black or Asian officers at the Green Bay Police Department. Ofc. Bahl said that he takes responsibility for the messages and agreed that they should not have been sent out or those that he was messaging should have been included in the messages.
Ofc. Bahl was asked what his view of the moral was from the nightshift and [REDACTED]. At this point the interview was ended due to the amount of time it had taken to get to this point in the interview and was scheduled to continue on another day.
Part two of the interview with Ofc. Bahl took place on February 22, 2017. Present at this interview with Ofc. Bahl was GBPPA Union Representative [REDACTED]. Capt. John M. Balza and Lt. Benjamin Allen conducted the interview with Ofc. Bahl.
Ofc Bahl started the interview with some reflection of the first interview and said that he thought about all of this over the weekend and wanted to make sure that we understood that he is taking accountability for his actions and wants to move forward and provide as much information as possible about the investigation. Ofc. Bahl said he wants to work through this and he is 100% committed to get our agency moving forward. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl said that he has never been through an internal investigation and it is terrible and he wants to get through it and move forward. We also talked about the policies that pertain to the investigation and in particular to the standards of conduct related to his messaging. [REDACTED] but he also understands that he should not have sent out the messages.
Investigators then directed Ofc. Bahl to pre-scripted questions related to this investigation. Ofc. Bahl was asked if he was aware of any harassment that was directed to anyone specifically, behind anyone's back, to their face or otherwise and [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he was aware of anyone sending out messages that were inappropriate or could be viewed as harassment or bullying and [REDACTED]. He was then asked to think of any messages that were related to the "Knowledge is Power" messages, and [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he remembered a message being sent out related to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] assisting [REDACTED] with an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) traffic stop. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he recalled a conversation between himself, Ofc. R. Casey Masiak and Ofc. Michael P. Rahn related to Ofc. Rahn saying to Ofc. Masiak that, "We got your back, nothing is going to happen to you." [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he had ever received a message similar to, "You lost bro?" or, "That's one." [REDACTED].
He was then asked if he had ever been in the locker room where there was conversation between officers or between officers and supervisors that were inappropriate or talking behind others backs, or bullying-type conversations. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he had heard of, or been involved in, any conversations of a sexual nature related to a co-worker. [REDACTED].
He was then asked if he had to pick anyone on the shift that was a target of harassment or bullying, who would that be. [REDACTED].
We then talked about the issue of messages related to making sure officers have their gun. He was asked if this was sometimes a legitimate message, making sure that officers have their equipment prior to going out on a shift. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he knew of any supervisors that had failed to stop any harassment or had participated in harassment or bullying. [REDACTED].
He was asked if he knew or heard of Lt. Robert J. Korth talk about [REDACTED] and that he made the comment that, "Her ass is so big, that she needs to turn sideways to walk through a door." [REDACTED].
[REDACTED]. Ofc. Bahl was asked if he felt that there was adequate supervision on nightshift. He was asked about Lt. Robert J. Korth [REDACTED]. He was asked about Lt. Steven Mahoney [REDACTED].
He was asked about his friendship or personal relationship with [REDACTED]. When asked about a friendship with [REDACTED]. He was also asked about [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he had any concerns about people taking off too much time and he said that he has been told several times that he should not worry about how or when people are off. He said that his messages about people using off-time were more about frustration than anything.
He was asked if he knew of the issue of officers jumping calls in order to get other officers off of calls. [REDACTED].
Ofc. Bahl was asked if he had knowledge of the "[REDACTED] Walk." He said that he did not know anything about that [REDACTED]. He was asked if he ever heard anyone say, "Oh, great. We hired another one of those [guys]," in reference to [REDACTED]. He was asked if he had ever heard an officer use the "N-word" or the term "JNBN" [REDACTED].
He was asked if he knew of a group of officers that hung out in the Shift Commander's office on a regular basis around 4:00 in the morning [REDACTED].
When asked if he had ever heard the term "Black Walker" or "White Walker" referring to Ofc. Aaron Walker and Ofc. Benjamin Walker?. He said that he did know of these terms [REDACTED].
At the conclusion of the interview with Ofc. Bahl, he asked to talk about reasons why he didn't go to a supervisor for some of the things that concerned him [REDACTED].
Interview with Ofc. Kurt D. Brester - Part 3
A third interview was conducted with Ofc. Kurt D. Brester on February 28, 2017 at approximately 2:30 pm. The interview was conducted in the Green Bay Police Department's conference room. Professional Standards Division (LOL!) investigators conducted the interview with Ofc. Brester and Union Representative [REDACTED] was also present.
Ofc. Brester was presented with a MDT message that was sent from Ofc. Stephanie R. Dantoin's vehicle by another officer belittling her. He was asked if he sent the message or if he know who had sent the message.
It should be noted that through interviews, vehicle GPS, shift rosters, call notes, and prior interviews that either Ofc. Brester or Ofc. R. Casey Masiak had sent the message from Ofc. Dantoin's vehicle, as Ofc. Brester and Ofc. Masiak were working a two-man squad car, on the same call with Ofc. Dantoin, and vehicle GPS showed them at St. Vincent Hospital with Ofc. Dantoin at the same time the message was sent. No other Green Bay Police Officer or squad car was in that area at the time.
[REDACTED]. Ofc. Brester said they had gone back to the station for something and Ofc. Dantoin's vehicle was parked in the South lot when the message came out.
He was confronted with the fact that GPS showed both his and Ofc. Masiak's squad car at the hospital with Ofc. Dantoin's squad car when the message was sent out, and he said he just remembered them being somewhere where two squads would be parked together and the could not remember exactly where it was.
Ofc. Brester was asked if he (Brester) was the one that sent the message and he said that he could not remember [REDACTED].
Ofc. Brester was asked what that meant and he said he had, "No idea."
Ofc. Brester was asked what the MDT message, "U lost bro?," meant. [REDACTED].
There were not any further areas of clarification with Ofc. Brester and the interview was concluded.
Knowledge is Power