Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader File Photo Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl plans to retire in April, three years after rejoining the Police Department.
Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl has informed the city of plans to retire in April.
Mayor Jeanne Cronce confirmed she had received a letter from Kohl within the past two weeks stating Kohl wanted to pursue other options.
Cronce said she did not make the letter public because announcements of retirement should be up to the retiree, as opposed to resignations, which she said would be public information.
However, rumors had begun to surface in the community that Kohl was planning to leave.
Cronce said Kohl has informed department staff of his retirement.
Shawano Police and Fire Commission President Tony Zielinski could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Commission member Milt Marquardt said he learned about the retirement a week or two ago from the mayor.
“It was a surprise,” he said.
The commission meets quarterly and has not yet held any meetings this year.
Marquardt said he has not seen the retirement letter and doesn’t know the reasons Kohl might have cited for retiring.
“I don’t know what or why,” he said.
Marquardt said he has tried to contact Kohl since being informed of the retirement but has not had any response.
The retirement letter was submitted to Cronce at some point after the Common Council two weeks ago settled a sex discrimination suit filed against Kohl.
Cronce said the letter makes no reference to the lawsuits filed against Kohl and did not suggest the suits had anything to do with the retirement.
Officer NiCole Fischer, formerly Hoffmann, claimed in a lawsuit filed in federal court in May that Kohl delayed hiring her at the department because of her gender.
The city agreed to a settlement awarding Fischer $155,000 covering compensatory and punitive damages, court costs and attorney fees.
A second suit filed against Kohl alleging sexual discrimination is still pending in federal court. The city is also named as a defendant in that suit for its alleged inaction in responding to the issue.
Support services manager Laura Chartraw alleged Kohl began sexually discriminating against her in February 2015, and when she complained to him and to city officials, Kohl retaliated by creating a hostile work environment.
That suit, filed a month after Fischer’s last year, is scheduled for a jury trial in September.
The city has denied the allegations made in both of the suits and the settlement with Fischer denies any wrongdoing by Kohl or the city.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said Thursday the lawsuits and the retirement were unrelated.
No disciplinary action was taken against Kohl in the wake of the suits and, Knapp said, the city still has full confidence in him as head of the department.
“It’s unfortunate we’re losing him,” Knapp said. “We wish him well in his retirement.”
Marquardt said there has not been much discussion by the commission about the lawsuits, though there was mention that Zielinski was going to give a deposition in one of the cases.
Marquardt, who was on the commission when Kohl was hied, said the commission would meet with city administration and determine how to proceed in replacing Kohl, and whether the post should be filled from within the department or opened up to outside applicants.
Kohl was Shawano police chief from January 2001 to August 2002, before becoming a criminal justice instructor at Fox Valley Technical College.
He returned to the position after Ed Whealon retired in April 2014.
Kohl could not be reached for comment Thursday.