Police Officers Lied About Vaccine Status

Three Milwaukee Police Department members engaged in an effort to falsify COVID-19 vaccination statuses in order to be able to travel to a 13-day, taxpayer-funded training exercise in Georgia.

For one of the individuals, it was the second investigation in as many years.

Lieutenant Branko Stojsavljevic was previously found by the Inspector General to have improperly influenced a contract bidding process in a way that might have endangered President Donald Trump‘s life and involved security cameras at then-Mayor Tom Barrett‘s home. The lieutenant filed to retire this spring, avoiding any potential discipline for the vaccine issue.

An investigation by city Inspector General (IG) Ronda Kohlheim, triggered by a whistleblower complaint, confirmed that detective Lori Rom and officer Natalie Cruz both falsely claimed they were vaccinated at the explicit suggestion of Stojsavljevic, the supervising lieutenant.

As a result of a parallel, internal MPD investigation, Cruz was suspended for 60 days and Rom was demoted and suspended for 30 days. Both are appealing their penalties to the Fire & Police Commission.

Stojalvjevic went on leave in February and retired in April before any discipline was issued.

MPD chief of staff Nick DeSiato described the suspensions and demotion as “substantial discipline” in a briefing before the Common Council’s Public Safety & Health Committee Thursday morning.

Committee chair JoCasta Zamarripa said she was “just outraged” after reading Kohlheim’s report.

“I am very bothered when I see wrongly certifying, untruthful statements, that’s awful,” said Alderman Mark Borkowski.

Rom and Cruz took a grant-funded trip to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in the coastal Georgia city of Glynco in June 2021. FLETC had a mandatory vaccination policy in place at the time of the trip.

“Natalie they said they have your application. Lori, please fill out yours. They just ask if you have been vaccinated. Say yes,” wrote Stojsavljevic in a May 2021 text message obtained by Kohlheim. The lieutenant also informed the two that registration, training and lodging, estimated at $7,000, would be covered by a grant. MPD would cover the airfare and vehicle rental costs. The individuals all worked for MPD’s fusion center, which interfaces with the FBI and other agencies.

In a virtual interview, Stojsavljevic told Kohlheim he had “no memory” of telling the two to lie. When told there was proof he did, he suggested “it was a joke because they joke all the time.”

Rom, in an interview with Kohlheim, said: “she felt compelled and forced to answer ‘yes’ to the COVID-19 vaccination question for fear of being retaliated against for not following the directive of command staff.” A 2021 investigation into Stojsavljevic’s behavior regarding a city contract determined that he engaged in retaliatory behavior.

Rom also said it was a joke of the fusion center that vaccination cards had been created for the two women, though they were never actually created. A May text message to Stojsavljevic said: “I just want to double check that we don’t have to show documentation prior to arrival” and “how do we bypass that?” She told Kohlheim that the lieutenant responded verbally.

Cruz told Kohlheim that she never reached out to FLETC about the issue and trusted that the lieutenant had taken care of everything.

Each time a follow-up was requested by FLETC in advance of the training, Cruz and Rom said they were vaccinated.

After learning of the investigation, Stojsavljevic contacted a trainer at FLETC via text message to ask if anyone else from MPD had reached out. “He further stated he may have said some more ‘BS’, but that he wasn’t reaching out to lie for him – he just wanted to make him aware that it was a possibility that he might be contacted,” says Kohlheim’s report. The FLETC trainer told Kohlheim he never gave Stojsavljevic advice that a vaccination wasn’t mandatory and that compliance is based on the honor system.

The trip didn’t just run afoul of federal rules, it also violated MPD policy that unvaccinated employees were only to travel for training in “emergency” circumstances. A travel form submitted by Stojsavljevic to department supervisors said the trip was being made in compliance with the then-acting chief Jeffrey Norman‘s directives.

Then-inspector Paul Formolo (now assistant chief), who oversaw the fusion center as part of the criminal investigation bureau, told Kohlheim he was willing to make an exception to allow the two to travel to the training, but that he was unaware of the FLETC vaccine policy and expected his command staff to be aware of such a requirement.

“Essentially people were misled to believe that those members were in compliance with the [FLETC]’s policy to be vaccinated,” said Kohlheim.

“I personally am outraged because these people are in a leadership position asking the people of Milwaukee to be law-abiding,” said Zamarripa, specifically citing the lieutenant and detective.

“We took this very seriously and substantial discipline was rendered as a result of the findings of this investigation,” said DeSiato. Cruz and Rom were removed from fusion center duty, which an earlier IG report makes clear is a desired posting.

“Aside from these allegations they had strong reputations as hard workers and valuable members of our team,” said the chief of staff.

FPC executive director Leon W. Todd, III said Rom and Cruz’s appeal hearings are scheduled for September. Rom, as part of her demotion to officer, would receive a pay cut.

Stojsavljevic retired after going on leave in February. His pension payment is estimated at more than $6,000 per month. Any request for his personnel records would indicate he retired with an open investigation said DeSiato.

The IG recommendations include discipline and possibly termination for all three individuals. It also says MPD should ensure the individuals didn’t violate the terms of the grant and could consider legal action for “the misuse of the State of Wisconsin, Department of Military Affairs, Homeland Security government grant funds and/or to recover all monies associated with the training (training, registration and lodging).”

DeSiato said because the individuals did receive the training MPD believes the grant was complied with.

The IG report also suggests implementing new controls to make sure travel requirements are being properly observed.

Kohlheim suggested that given the potential the individuals could end up at a different police department, the FLETC should also prohibit their future attendance at its facilities.

The IG, a creation of the council, does not have the authority to issue discipline.

Kohlheim praised MPD for its cooperation throughout the investigation. The investigation started in November 2021 and concluded in May.

Stojsavljevic’s Other Investigation

Ald. Scott Spiker asked the IG and DeSiato about something that didn’t appear in the latest investigation. Wasn’t Stojsavljevic subject to another recent investigation?

He was.

That investigation found the lieutenant “engaged in a pattern of misconduct and conflicts of interests during the [Project Greenlight] RFP process in which he had various communication with one of four vendors under consideration for the contract.” He also was found to have engaged in efforts that were “retaliatory in nature” in working to have a sergeant reassigned, in part by deliberately withholding information from his superiors.

Based on a complaint, Kohlheim opened an investigation in April 2021 and completed it in October 2021.

“I think the timelines here are very critical,” said DeSiato.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say MPD should have been aware,” said Kohlhim. “I honestly don’t because the investigation had already been closed.”

But Kohlheim thinks the first investigation might have triggered the second complaint.

“It is my assumption that it was like a door opener for other investigations,” she told the committee.

In January, DeSiato told a council committee that part of MPD’s internal investigation remained open. The lieutenant went on voluntary leave a month later, during a period in which the vaccine investigation was ongoing.

Stojsavljevic was also found by Kohlheim to have improperly provided confidential information to Motorola, one of six bidders for a 24-hour camera network. The lieutenant exchanged more than 200 emails with a company representative.

Included in the leaked information were security details for a Jan. 14, 2020 visit from President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, with Kohlheim determining it compromised their safety. Stojsavljevic also presented false accusations about other bidders, including eventual winner Brite Computers.

Sergeant Adam Grochowski, who reported to the lieutenant and submitted the complaint, said Stojsavljevic had him reassigned to a less desirable role because he was attempting to push back against the lieutenant’s improper influence on the bidding process.

Stojsavljevic claimed that Grochowski went outside the chain of command in contacting the mayor’s office. He was able to influence his newly-assigned captain and inspector to have Grochowski transferred, while withholding that he knew about the contact. Supervisors can authorize bypassing the command structure.

Grochowski, after discussing cameras with Stojsavljevic that covered the mayor’s west side home, contacted a member of the mayor’s security detail in fall 2020 and was recommended to request a formal meeting with the mayor’s office. He sent an email requesting one. Barrett, according to the IG report, was “riveted” by the camera issue.

The IG report did not substantiate a claim that the lieutenant or any other city employee had a financial conflict of interest with regard to Motorola and Project Greenlight.

Copies of the vaccine and contracting investigations are available on Urban Milwaukee.