Details Emerge Surrounding Resignation Of Mayville Chief

4/14/17 – More information is coming to light about the resignation of Mayville Police Chief Chris MacNeill. Last month, the Mayville Common Council accepted MacNeill’s resignation after 17 years with the department. Various media outlets throughout the state are now reporting on the investigation surrounding the allegations.

The incident started in 2011 and involved the family member of a former Mayville police officer, Thomas Poellot, who has since become the police chief in Cudahy. That is according to documents from Watertown Police, the agency handing the current investigation. MacNeill reportedly admitted to them that he changed a police report from being a “drug possession” case to a lesser “medication violation.” MacNeill defended that decision, while denying knowledge as the why the six-page report is now missing two pages, though he nonetheless took responsibility. The changes were apparently made so that the family member could get into the military.

Former Mayville Police Chief Bill Linzenmeyer, who retired six-months after the pill incident, recently brought the altered document to the attention of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Watertown police interviewed Linzenmeyer at his home and he said that he warned MacNeill that if he changed the report he would be fired. Linzenmeyer was not able to explain why he waited until 2016 to report the records change nor could he explain why he signed military documents that the individual busted with drugs had no record.

During the interview, Linzenmeyer had a seizure and an ambulance was called. As investigators from Watertown left the house, Linzenmeyer’s son – Beaver Dam Police Officer Bill Linzenmeyer – reportedly stopped their vehicle in the driveway and began yelling obscenities about the mistreatment of his father. Beaver Dam Police Chief John Kreuziger tells us that he is aware of that incident and it is being investigated by an outside agency.

Cudahy Police Chief Thomas Poellot did not immediately return our calls for comment. Bob Barrington with the Dodge County District Attorney’s Office tells us that the DA recused himself from the investigation months ago. The Mayville council last month authorized the mayor to file a formal complaint with the city’s Police and Fire Commission to request Misconduct in Public Office charges through the state Attorney General’s office; the agency is reviewing the matter.