An outside consultant has found no evidence to support a La Crosse police officer’s claim that he was retaliated against him. The city released a report Monday that did not detail the allegations made by officer Nate Poke, the La Crosse Tribune reports. Poke had alleged a hostile work environment, after the department started an investigation into reports of possible misconduct against him.
“We took officer Poke’s allegations seriously. That was important to investigate those thoroughly,” Mayor Tim Kabat told the Tribune. “The fact there wasn’t retaliation found is positive.”
Police Chief Ron Tischer said consultant Jim Lewis found no evidence to support Poke’s claims of hostile treatment, and found “no inconsistencies” in the accounting of funds for community policing efforts. The paper reports that Poke was a neighborhood response officer until a re-assignment which spurred his complaint, and he’s now on leave.