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Milton officer displayed disgusting but not criminal behavior: Chief

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Jerry Schuetz

MILTON — The Milton police chief said Monday that the behaviors of a former officer “disgust” him and hit the community “like a sucker punch.”

Nevertheless, a criminal investigation did not find enough evidence for criminal charges against Jason Casper, Milton’s former school resource officer, Chief Jerry Schuetz said.

“District Attorney David O’Leary informed our agency that although the investigation revealed some very inappropriate behaviors, no criminal charges will be filed against Mr. Casper,” Schuetz said, reading from a prepared statement.

An 18-year-old former Milton High School student accused Casper in May of touching her breast and butt when she was 17 and sending her lewd text messages after she turned 18. The Janesville Police Department conducted the criminal investigation.

Casper resigned in July.

Janesville police searched records of a cell phone owned by the Milton Police Department but used professionally and personally by Casper, Schuetz said.

The search revealed sexually explicit text messages exchanged between Casper and two former Milton High School students, including the accuser, according to police reports. In both cases, the women seemed to be willing participants in the conversations.

Police also discovered text messages between Casper and a Milton High School employee that mentioned use of a personal day and a meeting at the school district office, a police report says. Schuetz declined to elaborate on that situation until the internal investigation is released.

Casper denied inappropriately touching the accuser, and the investigation did not find evidence of the accusations, the reports say. It also did not determine if Casper had sexual relations with any of the women.

When asked if he sent sexually explicit text messages to a former student, Casper replied that such messages aren’t against the law if the person receiving the messages wants them, the report says.

But they are against police and city regulations for employees, Schuetz said. Casper violated city electronic communications code and committed conduct unbecoming to a police officer, he said.

If Casper hadn’t resigned, Schuetz would have recommended he be fired, Schuetz said Monday.

“The actions that were uncovered during the criminal and internal investigations associated with Mr. Casper’s conduct fall well below the professional standards that our community, elected and appointed officials, and that which I as a police chief have established for our police officers in the city of Milton,” Schuetz said in the statement.

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal investigation on behalf of the Milton department. That investigation is complete, but Casper has 10 days to legally challenge the investigation’s release.

Schuetz expected to inform Casper of the impending release Monday or today, he said. The release could take longer than 10 days even if Casper doesn’t challenge it because the department has to redact names of people involved in the case, he said.

The internal investigation contains much information not revealed in the criminal investigation, Schuetz said. In the criminal investigation, Casper had a constitutional right to not answer questions that could implicate himself. But as a public employee, he had to cooperate with the internal investigation or face immediate firing, Schuetz said.

“The behaviors you will read about … are disturbing and, quite frankly, disgust me,” Schuetz said, reading from the statement. “They hit our community in mid-May like a sucker punch, not foreseen and leaving behind a black eye that will take some time to heal.”

Under federal law, the criminal investigators could not use information from the internal investigation.

Casper still is certified as a police officer, Schuetz said. The city will talk to its attorney about the possibility of pursuing decertification for Casper, he said.

Officials from the city and school district are discussing possible changes to the school resource officer position to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The proposed changes probably will be presented to the school board and city council in September, Schuetz said.

An advisory group planned to interview two Milton officers, Jim Martin and Jim Schumacher, for the school resource officer position Monday. The police commission will interview the candidates Aug. 25, Schuetz said.

He said it might take time for the department to regain the trust of families in the Milton district.

“There’s going to be some time for healing in that process, which is why I think it’s very important that we actively communicate and acknowledge what did happen and then begin to move forward in that process by putting someone new in that position,” he said.