MERRILL, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – A Lincoln County Sheriff’s Lieutenant accused of harassing other department employees was allowed to retire after months of paid leave.
Nearly 130 pages of an open records request from WAOW-TV shows Lt. Chad Collinsworth retired Oct 1st, after eight months of paid leave amid an internal investigation.
There were dozens of complaints from co-workers against Collinsworth, including allegations of sexist behavior. One person claimed Collinsworth said “females don’t belong in law enforcement.”
During firearms training, a different female deputy outlined comments Collinsworth made, saying that “women can’t shoot.’ After an officer-involved shooting Collinsworth allegedly saying, “I hope this destroys her and that she can’t recover from this.”
Several deputies said they waited to file complaints against Collinsworth out of fear of retaliation. Some said after taking their complaints to the sheriff, Collinsworth would badger them about what was discussed behind closed doors.
The human resources department conducted the investigation which began in March. Collinsworth was put on leave in April. He’s repeatedly denied the accusations and hasn’t commented further on the matter.
