Report on officer investigation released by mayor’s office

Police plan changes in tracking donated funds

La Crosse police need to have more transparency when it comes to how it spends donated money. That’s one of the findings of the investigation into complaints of retaliation by one La Crosse police officer.

Mayor Tim Kabat’s office released a heavily redacted report on the investigation today.

Officer Nathan Poke had been the subject of complaints from the public and was under investigation when he complained to Kabat about his former partner, officer Dan Ulrich.

Those complaints seem to stem, in part, from some misunderstandings about how donations to the neighborhood resource officer program were being utilized.

There were claims, apparently, from Poke, that donations raised for the use of the neighborhood resource officers were not getting used properly inside the department. None of which turned out to be true, but an outside investigator suggested a better and more transparent process for showing how donations are used in the future.

The investigation also finds no basis for claims or retaliation that were made by Poke.

Ulrich and Poke remain on administrative leave while an internal investigation proceeds, according to police chief Ron Tischer, in a statement released Monday.

“We, as an agency, always looks for ways to improve transparency and hold ourselves accountable,” Tischer said, apparently addressing the concerned raised about donations.