KENOSHA, Wis. — Former Kenosha Police Department officer and former Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Angelo Rizzo has filed a pro se lawsuit against Kenosha County Eye, asking a judge to rule that several statements in two previously published articles are “inaccurate.” The lawsuit seeks no money damages, no injunction, and no retraction. Instead, Rizzo asks the court to order this publication to revise portions of the reporting to align with his preferred characterization of documented events.
The articles in question reported on Rizzo’s resignation from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office during the pendency of a disciplinary investigation. According to internal affairs documents, the investigation centered on multiple alleged violations of a restraining order involving his ex-girlfriend, including accusations that he contacted her despite the court order prohibiting any contact whatsoever. The sworn restraining-order petition, now published by this outlet, includes detailed allegations that Rizzo repeatedly came to her home uninvited; that her young child became so distressed by the situation that therapy was recommended; and that during one incident, Rizzo allegedly threatened to “blow his brains out” if she refused to speak with him. Rizzo disputes these allegations, but they are explicitly recorded in the petition the Arizona court reviewed when issuing the protective order.
Internal affairs records further show that Rizzo’s statements to investigators conflicted with other evidence. According to those documents, Rizzo initially denied contacting his ex-girlfriend after the restraining order was issued. However, as the investigation progressed, he ultimately acknowledged sending her a birthday card and also calling her, both actions the order expressly forbade. Investigators noted that these admissions contradicted his earlier denials and contributed to the Sheriff’s Office conclusion that he was not truthful during portions of his interview. In the interest of transparency, Kenosha County Eye is publishing the full internal affairs file and the complete Arizona court file, with only the victim’s name, address, and her child’s name redacted for safety and privacy.
One of Rizzo’s claims asserts that an article misstated whether the protective order was “withdrawn” or “dismissed.” The Arizona court record attached to Rizzo’s own lawsuit shows the order was dismissed after the petitioner failed to appear for a scheduled hearing. Rizzo argues the distinction is meaningful. Based on the official file, the order remained in effect for more than a year before its dismissal. The semantics he is attempting to litigate here are so trivial and unsupported by the record that any prudent judge would likely recognize them as unserious.
Rizzo also contends that Kenosha County Eye misquoted Chief Deputy Justin Miller. However, emails obtained through a public records request show that Rizzo contacted Miller directly and asked him to change his separation code in ACADIS, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Law Enforcement Standards and Training database. ACADIS is the system used statewide to record every officer’s training history, certifications, and—critically—the official reason they separated from a law-enforcement agency. One of the possible designations is “resigned in lieu of termination” or “resigned during an internal investigation.” Miller declined Rizzo’s request, telling him he had no authority to change an employee’s separation status and would not do so even if he could.
According to Rizzo’s own Petition, his goal is to obtain a judicial declaration he can use in “future employment, licensing, and reputational matters.” Individuals familiar with his efforts have said Rizzo has been seeking law-enforcement work outside of Wisconsin. Using a lawsuit to obtain a court-mandated narrative for purposes of future police employment is uncommon and raises legitimate questions about whether the legal system is being used to reshape established public records rather than address any genuine legal harm.
Mathewson said, “Communities deserve police officers who meet the highest standards of professionalism and honesty. When a former officer files a lawsuit asking a judge to reinterpret established public documents or reposition the facts of his departure, the public has a right to scrutinize that effort. I will not rewrite reporting that is supported by public records. My responsibility is to report the truth and to give readers access to the underlying documents so they can see the facts for themselves.”
Mathewson has already served Rizzo with a formal safe harbor letter under Wisconsin’s sanctions statutes. A safe harbor letter is a legal notice that gives the opposing party 21 days to withdraw a frivolous lawsuit before the court is asked to impose penalties. If the lawsuit is not voluntarily dismissed, Mathewson will be seeking a substantial monetary judgment to compensate for the costs of defending what he believes is an entirely meritless action. Mathewson also expressed frustration that this case will not be heard in Kenosha County, explaining that Judge Chad Kerkman (D) has barred all Kenosha County judges from presiding over any of his cases, forcing them to be reassigned to either Racine or Walworth County. This reassignment prevents him from having his case heard in the venue and jurisdiction he prefers.
Notably, this lawsuit was not filed by the same attorney who recently sent Kenosha County Eye a demand letter on Rizzo’s behalf. That attorney did not sign the complaint, did not appear in the case, and is not representing him. To this author, the absence of legal representation strongly suggests that counsel advised Rizzo—consistent with his ethical obligations—that the threatened claims could not be filed in good faith. Rizzo moved ahead pro se.
Kenosha County Eye will continue to follow the case and will publish all filings, motions, and publicly released records so readers can review the information firsthand. Rizzo listed an address in Melrose, MA as his residence.
24 Responses
Vote out Kerkman.
Job 2. Revisit all his decisions.
It defies logic to assume that law enforcement can do no wrong.
I doubt anyone assumes that, just like with any occupation.
Kerkman should not be on the bench. Any bench. Not even a public park bench.
🤣🤣🤣
Rizzo appears to be an idiot.
Safe Harbor letter, I enjoyed learning about this.
Fuck this scumbag loser, and Kerkman.
What a nut job.
I think he got caught up in some bad situations and probably made some bad choices … like everyone does.
He’s not a tyrant, lets stop beating on him and let him move on …….. sheesh.
The guy is a liar and lowlife
But isn’t Rizzo prolonging the process and preventing himself from moving on by filing frivolous lawsuits like this? The more Kevin reports on this, the more likely it will remain in the public’s memory and appear in Google searches down the road. Kevin’s stories on this topic are based on public records. If Rizzo has an issue with the wording in these stories, he should take it up with the agencies behind the documents, not the reporter.
His desperation stinks. His record will follow him as is. He can go sell used cars😶
I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY BUT: Hi, everybody! It is me again! Some of our more patriotic persons of our country are getting ready for the 250th birthday of the U.S. Constitution in 2026. Wow! What a glorious accomplishment! One of the greatest documents! But I know of two other fine documents, too. They are the Nuremberg Code (with its 10 codes) and The State of Wisconsin’s Policy on Patients’ Rights to Self Determination. Interestingly enough, y’all decided to vote for a judge in your Keno County several times that obviously didn’t support any of these three documents, at least not in Shane’s case! This woman judge decided to “ORDER” Shane, as an “NGI,” to take “psychotropic medication” through her judge-power “w/out his consent during the period of commitment” which will end in many, many more consecutive years. Now, I am having issues trying to figure out if Shane is a patient or a criminal to this (now) ex-judge? (She did this in April 2017 – 16 years after Shane’s sentencing.) I mean, if he is her patient then why doesn’t she have a license to practice medicine? Imagine going to a new doctor and having him or her prescribe you dangerous medication for MANY MORE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE without examining you even once; without looking at your medical file; without talking to you; with a medical license hanging on the wall; nor taking any responsibility about your adverse health issues from the drugs. It sucks to be an “NGI” in Kenosha County while forced to be in Mendota! What about HIPAA rights since Shane’s information is ALL over the Wisconsin Circuit Court website – including her “order”? Is all this legal in Wisconsin? I don’t know why this judge decided to part ways with these three powerful, wonderful documents to force these drugs on Shane. I just know she did it! Look on the website yourself. I don’t call this an “order,” I call this “attempted murder!” I firmly feel this woman needs Jesus! In the meantime, as long as Wisconsin keeps medicating Shane, Wisconsinites can only expect their taxes to continue adding millions to the debt. K-town needs to keep their own money in their own pockets. How? By asking a lot of questions before voting!
Then there was the man who mysteriously showed up to Shane’s Initial Hearing lying and stated on the transcript that he was Shane’s attorney without ever meeting Shane (or being appointed) and gave Shane an “NGI” instead of a Not Guilty plea like Shane wanted! He needs Jesus, too! Shane never committed the “sexual assault” crime that his female prosecutor (who ALSO needs Jesus) accused him of doing – she just MADE ONE LITTLE LIE by adding the word “sexual” to the woman’s two statements through Shane’s Criminal Complaint. While Shane was going in and out of consciousness Shane treated the man and the woman the SAME! And, to all who didn’t vote for Shane’s female judge or are sorry (now) they voted for her, I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS! And to the rest of you folks: How many of you would still be alive after all of these years since the psychotropic drugs were ordered for Shane in April 2017? They came for Shane – when will they come for you? Kenosha you need Jesus! Ez 18:23 says: “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” Every human is an eternal being. The question is: Where will we spend eternity? The Bible says TODAY is the day of salvation – then we can ALL have a Merry Christmas! As for Shane, due to the fact he had no due process; no jury; did not see his original Criminal Complaint until years later but saw a cut-down version over one and half months after the prosecutor gave the unappointed attorney the original document; had various games, tricks and lies pulled on him in order to prosecute him – is not currently free. Also, due to the NGI being falsely placed on Shane without his knowledge or consent he can’t even use the constitution to speak for himself without being punished. (It is against his program to say he did not sexually assault another.) He needs to be set free, and I don’t mean a Conditional Release – I mean really FREE with all sex registrations pulled off. He needs and deserves a Merry Christmas, too – after all Shane is a human being and a natural born citizen who should have his American rights returned to him! And I hope a big hearty Merry Christmas to all who agree Shane should be set free!
I think I remember the article.
How about the last name so we know who this is..
Shane Burt, First-Team All-State, 3rd Team All-American, Co-Captain of a winning team, Mr. Tremper in his junior year, and was wanted by over 30 colleges in his senior year of high school. After college, Shane annually rode his bicycle from mid-Florida (his residency for many years prior to his arrest) to Kenosha and back which very well explains why he was probably severely dehydrated, before he knocked himself unconscious on the bicycle trail.
When you pull up Shane’s case, you still cannot see the unappointed defending attorney’s name (David Sloan) because I was told Kenosha doesn’t add unappointed names to the site. So, it looks like Shane was at his own Initial Hearing, but he wasn’t. Instead, it was David Sloan who showed up to the Initial Hearing without ever meeting with Shane. Sloan now lives in Lubbock, Texas helping out what I feel are questionable people as long as they have a lot of money. Example: People who sell fentanyl and a death occurs. etc. On the Keith & Lorfing website in Lubbock, Texas the website states he “believes in redemption, second chances and that a person can change.” Sounds like when a person gets caught, they get really sorry and want a second chance and if they have enough money he can help them. He needs Jesus! I knew something was wrong with Shane’s case, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. None of his attorney knew it either and most grew impatient with me. When I finally found Shane’s Initial Hearing transcript, I finally saw Sloan’s name and THEN realized what happened but then it was “too late”! I feel even though it is 24 years too late, Shane should be treated justly, and it doesn’t matter that the truth came out late – it should still be treated with justice! So, I tracked Sloan down in Texas and called him up. Sloan couldn’t stop laughing and sounded like he was going to choke on his laughter. He said he was wondering when I was going to find him and that the prosecutor was smart. He couldn’t stop laughing and repeating this statement over and over again. I can’t get over how this man made such a mockery of the constitution and Shane’s due process! Later, I wrote to Sloan. and Sloan basically stated that he saw Shane in his jail cell. Funny thing is that Sloan’s name doesn’t show up on Shane’s jail list – anywhere! Wisconsin laws need to be changed to jail people who do this to defendants. And Sloan needs Jesus! Sloan, in another letter, described Shane (basically) as (he thinks he remembers) a long-haired, Yankee hippy on a schizophrenic episode. So, Sloan implied he had to help Shane. How is a jock like a hippy? Someone else DID visit Shane within a week of the Initial Hearing and it was Shane’s little sister. She strongly disagreed with Sloan and said, “Shane spoke clearly, had a focused, calm gaze and walked with the same ease he always did…he seemed perfectly normal.” She also said. “How does one get disheveled in jail clothes? Was it his hair? Shane has worn his hair military grade short since he was 18 years old-and he did it in jail too.” Shane’s sister brought another witness at another point who came to the same conclusion. Sloan needs Jesus!
Streisand effect much Rizzo?
You big dummy!
Can anyone explain what Aunt Nita” is babbling about?? Totally lost .
Bro must have had all of his shots and boosters.
Come on now Mike, just move on. You made some mistakes in life, as we all do. Thankfully my mistakes were prior to KCE, but nonetheless. Learn from this and grow as a person. Also, as the publisher of this article mentioned, you do not want to be on the hook for his legal fees. Which I’m certain you will be as everything he published was public record. Good luck!👍
This Rizzo-Pierangeli bunch just think so highly of themselves. They are nothing outside of Kenosha. Actually, nothing even in Kenosha.
Look up his record on the Lexington police department in Massachusetts.
Clearly you did not look up the record because that Mike Rizzo is a completely different person.
Serious misconduct requires consequences—Michael paid them appropriately. These “news articles” serve no point other than public humiliation—published eight plus months AND BEYOND his resignation.
Consequences are for justice. Humiliation is for sport.
Accountability would look like:
– covering his resignation when it happened
– reporting the IA findings in a timely/relevant fashion
– explaining how the system responds to these incidents
– documenting policy implications
What this reporter did instead:
– waited until the event was cold
– dredged it back up
– published it with humiliation-forward tone
– repeated it
– framed it as a personal failure for entertainment value
This is not accountability. It is public shaming for clicks.
I knew Michael personally and don’t have fond memories of him. But this reporting is cruel and unnecessary.
This reporter calls himself a Christian while actually being some type of digital crusader with a vendetta. He’s written THREE unnecessary and increasingly hostile articles. Doesn’t he have better, actual noble, or newsworthy uses of his time? If this reporter has aspirations beyond small town rage bate—good luck. Any reputable hiring editorial manager would quickly read through his publications and pass on this man.