Documents from investigation against Chippewa County, Wis., sheriff made public
A 31-page report and hundreds of documents detailing questionable conduct from the Chippewa County, Wisconsin, sheriff are now public.
The documents reveal the results of an investigation that resulted in a no-confidence vote against the sheriff.
As previously reported, Sheriff Travis Hakes is accused of misconduct — including sending inappropriate text messages to a female employee, conducting personal business at work and possible violations of county policies.
A first report issued to the Chippewa County Board late last year found that Hakes was lacking in “training, leadership, integrity and competence.”
Hakes has repeatedly attacked the findings.
“I can tell you that my grandmother read those text messages, and she didn’t think there was anything inappropriate in them,” he said in October.
The board then voted to continue its investigation.
The findings that were just made public highlight the concerns over Hakes’ honesty, public statements, judgement, leadership and risk management. The report wraps up by saying the investigation provides “substantial evidence of the dishonesty of Sheriff Hakes”.
Hakes pushed back on Thursday, saying he was “utterly disgusted” by the investigation and the taxpayer money spent on it.
“It was a Madison-based attorney versus a law enforcement investigator,” he said. “The burden of proof is significantly lower and I believe if a law enforcement official were to review the report I don’t know that it would have went the same way. And it certainly wouldn’t have cost the taxpayers the amount of money that it did.”
View the full investigation report below: