WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – The Wausau Police Department is being sued over an open records request involving a former office.
According to court documents, the Wisconsin Transparency Project says the department has withheld relevant information about an internal investigation into former Lt. Adam Hartwig. The complaint says many internal documents were heavily redacted.
Hartwig was investigated by the department in 2019 over allegations of sexual misconduct. He later resigned as a result of the investigation. The internal report concluded that “Hartwig engaged in sexual harassment which included verbal and physical conduct”.
The president and founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, Tom Kamenick, says much of what was released regarding Hartwig’s investigation was redacted to the point of being useless. “There’s also the idea that we need to see if these investigations are, in fact, being thorough and being fair to both the accuser and the accused in these situations.”
Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven said he could not comment due to the active lawsuit.
Hartwig worked part-time for the Cadott Police Department for about a year after leaving Wausau. It is unclear if he is currently working in law enforcement.
