Two Kenosha County Deputies Resign Before Being Fired Amid Damning Misconduct Findings

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Former Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Brantner

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Two Kenosha County deputies have quietly resigned before they could be fired, both under the weight of serious misconduct investigations—one involving concealed criminal history and deception, the other, a troubling pattern of behavior that allegedly jeopardized officer safety.

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Deputy Andrew Brantner resigned in March 2025, just ahead of a formal termination recommendation from Captain Eric Klinkhammer. The recommendation followed an internal affairs investigation that uncovered Brantner’s dishonesty in a recent Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) citation for illegal deer hunting.

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Andrew Brantner’s Mugshot
(Wisconsin Department of Justice)

But more troubling, according to records reviewed by Kenosha County Eye, is that Brantner was hired despite a prior criminal conviction involving a firearm. In 2021, while serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, Brantner was arrested in a road rage incident after allegedly brandishing a handgun at a woman during a traffic altercation in St. Francis, Wis. The Franklin Police Department recommended felony charges of Second Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety with a Dangerous Weapon. However, Milwaukee County prosecutors—under a district attorney’s office widely criticized for its leniency—charged only a misdemeanor: disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon.

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Brantner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Although he claimed on his Kenosha County job application that the charge had been expunged, court records indicate it never was—because he never paid the $1,000 court fine.

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On his application, Brantner stated: “Disorderly Conduct a use of a dangerous weapon. 17 days Huber/ case closed judge granted that my record be expunged.” Personnel documents now show that statement was false.

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Kenosha County officials were also unaware of Brantner’s misconduct during his tenure. In late 2024, he was cited by the DNR for hunting over illegal bait and obstructing the warden’s investigation. According to internal memos, Brantner lied to the warden, tried to conceal video evidence, and misrepresented the presence of a trail camera’s SD card. The camera ultimately showed Brantner placing corn in the area.

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He never reported the citation or police contact to his superiors—an apparent policy violation. Klinkhammer concluded in his memo: “This deceitfulness destroyed his reputation and integrity and the reputation of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office.”

The second deputy, a veteran female officer whose name is being withheld due to safety concerns, resigned under a separation agreement on February 25, 2025. She was under investigation for a disturbing string of allegations that included sharing confidential law enforcement records with known felons, being present during large methamphetamine transactions, and lying to internal affairs investigators.

Records show she had an intimate relationship with a convicted felon currently serving time in a Wisconsin prison. Investigators reviewed 11 jail phone calls in which she allegedly spoke to him using sexually explicit language, relayed law enforcement information, and added money to his jail account. She initially denied the relationship and the calls, but later admitted to both after being confronted with audio evidence.

Internal investigators found she accessed official law enforcement reports for personal reasons, appeared in civilian clothes at the felon’s court hearings, and failed to disclose the relationship to her supervisors as required by department policy. At one point, she admitted to violating policies knowingly, stating, “Because I was stupid.”

The Sheriff’s Department concluded that her credibility as a law enforcement officer was “irretrievably broken,” citing multiple violations of county policy, including ethics and conduct codes. Her resignation agreement explicitly states she is barred from future employment with the county. She has an extensive disciplinary file and appears to have been close to termination once before. She would have been fired if she didn’t resign.

Both resignations were listed in the state’s ACADIS law enforcement database as having occurred “prior to the completion of internal investigation.” This virtually ensures that neither will work in law enforcement again.

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8 Responses

  1. Commendations are due to those entrusted with the responsibility of conducting background investigations on prospective members of the force.

  2. Why not name that other officer!! Why allow special treatment when she broke the law like all the others and their pictures are posted. Who cares about her safety, she put herself in that position, now it’s time to face the music!! Does this her mug shot picture isn’t included with all the others that are posted? What’s fair for one, is fair for everyone!!!

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  3. Some people don’t like it when someone gets “resigned” but it guarantees that the bad apple is out the door quickly, surely, permanently and economically. On the flip side, in Walworth County shady cops were paid to resign and that, to me, is shady.

  4. Who cares? Inquiring minds? As long as she isnt employed by county any longer. What is really surprising is that there aren’t charges being brought against her for having a relationship with an inmate.

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