(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — A recent federal appellate court decision has brought renewed attention to the hiring history of a Kenosha County sheriff’s deputy who was previously fired by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office over allegations involving a police academy “cheat sheet” before later being hired in Wisconsin, where he was subsequently disciplined for a body-camera policy violation and later became the subject of a citizen complaint alleging racism and harassment that the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office ultimately determined was unfounded, according to federal court records and internal documents obtained by Kenosha County Eye.
On Sept. 30, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a published opinion affirming the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Deputy Patrick L. Jones Jr. against the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and one of its command staff members following Jones’ termination in 2019.
Jones was hired by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in September 2019 and sent to the University of Illinois Police Training Institute as part of his required law-enforcement training. During the academy, Jones obtained a Google Drive document titled “State Exam Review 17-7.5” from his then-girlfriend, who had previously graduated from another police academy.
According to federal court records, Jones later discussed or displayed the document to fellow recruits. One recruit reported concerns that Jones may have possessed answers to the Illinois state law-enforcement certification examination, triggering an internal investigation by academy officials.
Jones maintained throughout the investigation and later litigation that he believed the document was merely a legitimate “study guide” and did not realize it allegedly contained questions and answers from a prior version of the state exam.
However, investigators with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board concluded the document was a known “cheat sheet” connected to a previous investigation. In its Sept. 30, 2025 opinion, the Seventh Circuit described the document as “a cheat sheet for a prior version of the Illinois state law enforcement exam.”
The appellate court wrote that the document contained numerous numbered entries consisting of questions and answers, including abbreviated prompts and responses. The district court later noted that the document appeared designed to provide recruits with answers to the state exam rather than teach underlying material.
The Police Training Institute’s assistant director, Joseph Gallo, conducted an investigation and ultimately recommended Jones be allowed to remain in training, concluding Jones may not have fully understood what the document actually was. Nevertheless, leadership within the Lake County Sheriff’s Office disagreed.
On Sept. 30, 2019, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office terminated Jones’ employment after less than one month with the agency. In a termination letter authored by Undersheriff Lawrence Oliver, the agency stated Jones’ actions and responses during the investigation “fall short of the truthfulness and integrity that are essential to the core standard of values we hold ourselves accountable to in law enforcement.”
Jones later filed a federal lawsuit against the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Oliver, alleging defamation and violations of his occupational-liberty rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Jones argued the sheriff’s office ignored the academy investigator’s recommendation, falsely portrayed him as dishonest, and damaged his law-enforcement career.
The lawsuit ultimately failed.
In March 2023, a federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, ruling that the statements in the termination letter were protected opinions based upon disclosed facts and that Oliver was immune from liability under Illinois law. Jones appealed, but the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal last fall.
The appellate court noted that after being fired, Jones unsuccessfully applied to 27 law-enforcement agencies before eventually obtaining employment with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. The court also stated Jones applied to the Des Plaines Police Department but “did not receive an offer after he disclosed his previous termination and failed a polygraph test question about his prior use or sale of ‘any illegal narcotics or drugs.’”
Records obtained by Kenosha County Eye show Jones was hired by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 4, 2022, as Deputy #67 with badge number 389.
Internal records obtained by Kenosha County Eye also show Jones later became the subject of a citizen complaint while employed in Kenosha County.
In June 2024, a woman filed a complaint alleging Jones harassed her during an overnight traffic stop near Bristol. The woman alleged Jones followed her vehicle, changed the alleged speed he claimed she was traveling, repeatedly questioned her whereabouts, and made comments she perceived as intimidating and inappropriate. She also accused Jones of acting “unprofessional, racist, and harassing.”
According to internal investigative records, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office reviewed squad video, GPS data, and body-camera footage from another responding deputy. Investigators ultimately determined the allegations against Jones were “unfounded.” The records state investigators found no evidence Jones acted in a racist, harassing, or unprofessional manner during the encounter.
However, the same records state Jones’ own body camera was not activated during the traffic stop. Jones reportedly stated he was unaware the camera was off.
Separate records from January 2025 show Jones later received a documented counseling session after turning off his body camera during a civil-related call for service. According to the counseling memo, another deputy requested Jones stop recording while leaving a residence. Jones then deactivated the camera before the encounter had fully concluded.
The sheriff’s office determined the recording should have remained active under department policy. Jones was formally counseled, and the memo warned that future violations “may result in disciplinary action.”
Kenosha County Eye reached out to Sheriff David Zoerner and Deputy Patrick Jones for comment regarding Jones’ hiring history, federal litigation, and subsequent internal records. As of publication, no response had been received. Kenosha County Eye has previously sought comment from both regarding these matters without response. If either responds, this story will be updated.
28 Responses
Something similar happened at KPD with a bunch of recruits having a “cheat sheet” and they all got fired. I don’t think that by itself makes someone a bad person or a bad officer/deputy. Some people are not good test takers. I want to see how they do on the job. Not on some test.
Honest people are honest across the board. People who engage in academic dishonesty will continue to be dishonest in their profession. Law enforcement needs to rid itself of dishonest officers. If what you describe actually happened—-and I believe you—kudos to KPD leadership for doing it.
All people are a spectrum of truthfulness to untruthfulness. It requires clear judgment to read and assess a person’s motives behind their action. There are no honest people “across the board”. And those that believe it, are emotional minded rationalizers with half-baked judgment.
Very true, and validated by the downvote avalanche. If the deputy was Black (especially!), Hispanic, Muslim, or Indian, there would be no issue. Very likely the incident involved a Black female (degenerated America’s supreme Female Dominant cultural icon). As a result, the White “boy” is instant burnt toast.
Except those KPD officers had failed the real test in life, integrity. Kenosha has to stop punishing all the good officers by acquiring some others from scratch and dent sales.
I was fortunate to have a 15 year career in Law Enforcement (KPD), ANYONE who “cheats” to graduate at ANYTHING, is in my opinion just that, a “cheat”. It’s not only dishonest, but it’s disrespectful to any profession.
Coming from you that’s just a joke. As a human being you suck. How many women have you impregnated??
If you read through all of the materials it’s not clear whether he was a cheater or even intended to cheat. The academy staff believed he was truthful when he said he thought that he was getting a study guide for the exam and in fact the recruits were encouraged to share their notes with each other. If this was a clear case, I’d agree with you, Mike, but I can’t. That’s not to say that he’s God’s gift to law enforcement but in this instance he deserves to be treated fairly. In other words, there wasn’t even probable cause.
I have a firm stance on cheating. That said, the instructor suggested that people to seek out internet-based study guides, then this happens? A bit unfair and ambiguous if you ask me. If you give instructions to do so, be specific. Or tell them outside materials are prohibited, which they seem to now do if I read that correctly?
The bodycam stuff at KSD is separate and is that all he has? Could have been a mistake and the woman could have been nuts. Anything else in his file we need to worry about? I don’t have any huge concern with anything mentioned in the article as of yet…
“failed a polygraph test question about his prior use or sale of ‘any illegal narcotics or drugs.’”
Could be the steroids? He was a previous body builder.
Whoa, Nellie. There’s a lot to go through here. A probationary police officer can be canned for any reason or none at all without recourse (except for discrimination).
You have to go through all of the documentation to get to the bottom line (at the bottom, coincidentally). The academy that investigated the incident determined that the recruit did not act nefariously and thought he was getting a legitimate study guide. It appears that there was some screwup by the State of Illinois but at the end of the day the exam was changed so even if this guy had the answers it would not have done any good. The academy did not kick him out and essentially found in his favor.
In my years of law enforcement experience sometimes an agency wants to get rid of someone and they will use whatever tool they can to do so. There may or may not have been some other reason they wanted him gone. That’s Lake County’s call. However, what would make more sense here would be to get his Wisconsin DJ-LE-330 form to see if he truthfully disclosed his termination and any background investigation done by our sheriff’s department.
Everyone cries racism when they are caught in trouble. Shitty choice KPD made by taking LCSOs leftovers. A cheater is a cheater.
I never cheated! Because I never played by your rules
🤣 what?
KPD is not the same as the sheriffs office. Two totally different entities with different responsibilities.
Oh so they don’t both work in public service and have the capabilities to arrest and make charges against people?
That would be apt if he was a cheater but it’s not clear if he was or intended to be. The investigators believed he was truthful.
Law enforcement hires thousands of officers a year. Just like the masturbator at the Italian American Club, shitbums get through the cracks.
Big difference between a gun and a sponge. Asshole
Good thing they lowered the age to 19. 1 fk up after another.
This epitomizes how the Fraternal Order Of Police, the Blue, Brown & Green, protect their rotten apples, for “The Greater Good of Public Safety” they believe the Institutions Must Survive the Individual’s claims of Professional Misconduct and egregious activities.
Here in SCOTT COUNTY IOWA, Sheriff Tim Lane is no different from the Sheriff of Nottingham. Since 2017 he has been extorting me under color of law with Federal Level Protection. The Corruption in IOWA STATE BAR Association DEPENDS on hiring unethical and low intelligence as qualifiers: http://www.youtube.com/user/kornkobiowa details in book: DOMESTIC TERRORISM: USA vs Veterans and the First Amendment, Dr. KC Tennant, DC
You’re an idiot seeing the world through blind eyes! Illinois fired him for allegedly cheating. If every department is so corrupt and protects all the bad apples, they wouldn’t have even investigated the allegations on the first place? You blame the cops in Iowa for all of your problems by accusing them of extortion yet you obviously have no proof to justify the allegations. Stop playing the victim, stop hating just to hate and start opening your eyes to what’s really going on around you and maybe you’ll see that the problem you’re having it’s because of YOU and YOUR choices! You’ll be much happier if you do.
They told him to get a study guide, he gets study guide. They told him to help others, he tries helping others.
Academy does investigation, finds no wrongdoing and this was agreed to by state investigator.
He gets fired by lake county for academies findings. Did Lake County investigate at all?
Help others cheat and lie to become officers? Are you being serious?
Cheater and a liar? Welcome to Kenosha Co. If it weren’t for Kevin M., we would know nothing of these tricksters and deceivers.
This sounds like lake county fired for him doing what he was told. At the very end it says the academy and the ILETSB state investigator agreed with him staying in the academy and that there wasn’t an integrity issue.. Kinda would like a story about lake county more than cops.
They could have had another reason they wanted him gone and used this as the excuse.