By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

As the Banner previously published, the city of Whitewater announced on December 3 that Police Chief Aaron M. Raap had been placed on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation would be conducted by an outside agency regarding an incident that took place outside the city. “The leave is not considered punitive, rather part of the Whitewater Police Department policy,” the city’s press release stated.

WKOW reported on December 15 that the Waukesha County district attorney had dropped a potential domestic battery case against Raap. Per WKOW, District Attorney Susan Opper released a statement saying, “Please be advised the DA’s office has declined to issue criminal charges due to a lack of evidence to establish that Mr. Raap intended to inflict bodily harm on anyone.”

The city of Whitewater, indicating that it had received a number of media inquiries regarding the status of the internal investigation, stated the following in a press release on December 16: “The procedure is part of a broader effort to maintain the integrity of the organization as a whole, not a criminal investigation. As a result, the internal investigation runs independent from any decisions made by other agencies including
Waukesha County’s District Attorney’s Office and will be completed as soon as possible.”

WKOW’s article quoted City Manager Cameron Clapper as telling them that “a law enforcement officer from an agency other than Whitewater Police and the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department is conducting the personnel investigation for the city of Whitewater. He [Clapper] says Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission will consider the investigator’s report and decide on Raap’s employment status.”