Kenosha Fire-fighter Kerry W. Poltrock II is back on the job after being on administrative leave for a few months. Then Fire Chief ,Charles Leipzig, placed Poltrock on leave after learning about Poltrock’s arrest and subsequent criminal charges. He is currently out on bail for (3) counts of Domestic Battery and (3) counts of Domestic-Related Disorderly Conduct. He is accused by his wife and will stand trial for more than three incidents of violence:
2/5/2020 – Poltrock grabbed her by the neck and applied pressure, causing her pain and trouble breathing. Usually this is charged as a felony – strangulation and suffocation (not for fire-fighters – see below for further). She provided photo evidence of this incident.
3/1/2020 – He pinned her on the bed and struck her in the face. She provided photo evidence of this incident.
5/6/2020 – He forcefully pulled her into their bedroom causing her to fall and injure her elbow.
His wife asked the circuit court for a restraining order for 4 years. On July 6, 2020 the court approved this restraining order after Poltrock admitted under oath to much of the violence.
According to Acting Fire Chief Christopher Bigley, Leipzig put Poltrock back on duty in December. Bigley interviewed Poltrock with a Garrity Warning twice, and Poltrock denied the accusations. He is currently responding to fire calls and treating patients who call for an ambulance.
Sexual Assault Accusations
According to court records, there were sexual assault allegations made against Poltrock. We obtained some police records that show these allegations were made to the Sheriff’s department on June 5, 2020. Even though the sexual assault allegations were in the City of Kenosha, the Sheriff’s office was asked to investigate due to a possible conflict of interest. The Kenosha Sheriff’s department seemingly sent a criminal referral to Kenosha DA Patricia Hanson. She wouldn’t respond when we asked her why she decided against charging Poltrock with sexual assault. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s office however, hasn’t closed their case and are still looking for more evidence. The alleged victims are making new allegations through their counselors/therapists. If the Sheriff’s detectives gather more evidence, they could ask Hanson to take another look, and she could decide to charge him. The publicly available CCAP information has been scrubbed from the public’s view since being published. We have both versions. Who from the County redacted this info?
Not the First Time Fire-fighter Gets Special Treatment in Kenosha
Back in 2018, Kenosha Police arrested James (JD) Adams, a Kenosha Fire-fighter for Felony Strangulation and Suffocation, Battery, and Disorderly Conduct. He was alleged to have attacked a fellow fire-fighter at a softball game and choked him for 6-8 seconds. Kenosha DA Michael Graveley (D) however, only charged him with (2) counts of Disorderly conduct. Judge Mary Wagner (D) was happy with that deal and gave him a fine only.
We want to see your comments. Does it seem like these two are getting special treatment? Do you think Poltrock should be back on the job so soon?
**Editor’s note: We respect and honor the hard job of first responders. We do, however, think that when they run astray from their code of conduct, they should be held to the same standards of any other citizen**
13 Responses
It’s interesting to note that the police dispatcher who you reported on a while back was also involved in a strangulation accusation being charged as a misdemeanor, rather than the usual felony. It does seem that they go easier on their own.
I was just going to say that! Felony to nothing pretty quickly. Wonder if we’d get the same sweetheart deals
I don’t recall seeing anything about the dispatcher strangling anyone though. wow you guys are worse than CNN making this stuff up lol
You should read more often. We certainly did do at least two or three stories about the violent dispatcher
and where did you report that anyone was strangled in the dispatcher’s case? where does it say that? oh okay. thank you. i’m sure this story isn’t entirely true either but this is what you like to do with your day, so enjoy 🙂
I don’t understand what you’re saying. Sorry
You should read more often.
Of course he got better treatment. White professionals can get away with murder
Remember Kendal West? Kyle Baars? Yes, yes indeed they get better treatment
I think we need a story on the 2 POS from Kenosha who were charged with looting the other day…..one of which apparently almost killed someone a few years ago.
I don’t know why you feel it’s necessary to bring up the adams case. I followed that story for some time and your publication missed out on a lot of critical details. I have friends that know him and set the story straight and told me what actually happened. He was provoked and I also heard he’s constantly provoked by his so called “brothers” all the time. I met jd once and he seemed like a normal, jovial guy that people gravitate to. I don’t think you guys told the whole story. Your publication seems to be heavily biased in favor of the police. You turn a blind eye to their follies quite a bit.
I have the police report and there were about 15 witnesses there. if you provide me with your email address I can send it to you.