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Hearing could determine if officer will be disciplined

GENEVA TOWNSHIP — The town police commission will decide Thursday if any disciplinary action should be taken against a police sergeant accused of violating department policies.

The Walworth County Sheriff's Office investigated a complaint that Sgt. Robert Haase had sexual contact with a town employee in a squad car while on duty in August. The investigation did not reveal that any crimes had been committed, Capt. Dana Nigbor said.

The police department conducted an internal investigation, and Chief Ed Gritzner filed charges against Haase alleging he violated department policies, said Jay Hencken, president of the police commission.

The Gazette on Nov. 9 filed an open records request for a copy of the complaint. Town Clerk Debra Kirch on Nov. 10 said the town sent a notice of disclosure to the people named in the complaint and would not provide a copy within 12 days of the notice being sent. Kirch said the town expects to release the complaint Sunday, Nov. 22.

The Gazette obtained reports from the sheriff's office, which investigated the complaint.

According to the reports:

A woman reported to the police department that she saw an officer and a woman having sexual contact in a squad car parked in a lot near the entrance to the White River Trail on County NN.

The woman said she pulled into the parking lot at about noon Aug. 12. She said a town of Geneva police squad car and another car already were parked in the lot.

The woman said "it was extremely obvious" to her that the officer and the woman in the car were engaged in a sexual act.

The woman said she did not see either person in the car without clothes on. She said she also did not see any "body parts." She said it was about 15 minutes before the woman and the police officer left the parking lot in separate vehicles.

Nigbor wrote in her report that Gritzner told her he believed the people in the car were Haase and a municipal court clerk based on the woman's descriptions.

Nigbor interviewed Haase and the clerk separately Aug. 14.

The clerk said she and Haase are friends and they have met several times to talk about their personal problems. She "adamantly denied" having sexual contact with Haase and said they have never been intimate.

Haase also said he and the clerk have met several times to talk. He also denied that the couple had sexual contact.

"This case will be closed as unfounded for any criminal charges," Nigbor wrote in her report.

The information was provided to the town in case any police department policies were violated, she wrote.