A former Kenosha Police officer and Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff, Michael Rizzo, has become a liability for multiple prosecutions in Kenosha County due to a history of disciplinary actions, a restraining order, accusations of violating a court order, and dishonesty. His record is likely to be exploited by defense attorneys to challenge his credibility as a witness in ongoing cases.
Rizzo’s Turbulent Law Enforcement Career
Rizzo was first hired by the Kenosha Police Department (KPD) on April 29, 2019. However, he resigned on August 10, 2022, to take a job with the Phoenix Police Department in Arizona. His time in Phoenix was short-lived, as he later returned to KPD on January 18, 2023, before once again leaving for the Phoenix Police Department.
During his tenure at KPD, Rizzo faced at least three disciplinary actions. These included sending a profanity-laden email to a dispatch supervisor, engaging in a dangerous high-speed pursuit, and making an inappropriate post on social media.
While serving as an officer in Phoenix, Rizzo became engaged to a fellow officer. Their relationship ended poorly, culminating in his ex-fiancée obtaining a restraining order against him on April 12, 2024. The petition filed for the restraining order details allegations of emotional abuse, manipulation, and harassment, painting a troubling picture of his behavior.
According to the petition, Rizzo’s ex-fiancée described a relationship filled with instability, citing his “extreme emotional highs and lows” and his unpredictable nature when angry or depressed. She stated that his behavior led to severe emotional distress, requiring therapy and medical intervention due to high cortisol levels caused by stress. She further alleged that Rizzo frequently screamed and swore at her in front of her 12-year-old daughter, who now also requires counseling due to the trauma.
The petition also details Rizzo’s refusal to respect her boundaries, including multiple attempts to contact her despite explicit instructions to cease communication. She described incidents where Rizzo refused to return her house key, continued to frequent her gym and grocery stores, and even showed up at her home uninvited, knocking persistently for five minutes before leaving. She also recounted an incident where he parked his Phoenix Police cruiser near her while she was on duty, further intensifying her fear for her safety.
Violating the Restraining Order and Facing Termination
After leaving Arizona, Rizzo returned to Wisconsin and was hired by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. However, he resigned before he could be terminated following an internal investigation that found he had violated the restraining order against him.
The internal report outlined that Rizzo knowingly violated the court order by sending birthday cards to his ex-fiancée and calling her on her birthday. The investigation further determined that Rizzo provided contradictory statements about the phone call, first claiming he hung up immediately, then later admitting he allowed the call to ring until voicemail picked up.
The Kenosha Sheriff’s Office’s findings concluded that Rizzo’s actions “do not reflect the high standards that are expected of a Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff and bring discredit to this agency.” Chief Deputy Justin Miller told KCE that the Sheriff’s Office does not retain Deputies found to have lied. The Kenosha County Brady List, which tracks law enforcement officers with documented dishonesty, includes several deputies, but none currently remain employed by the department.
Legal Troubles in Arizona
Despite clear evidence that Rizzo violated a court order, legal action against him remains uncertain. KCE spoke to the Phoenix Police Department, which confirmed that they requested the Phoenix Prosecutor’s Office to pursue charges against Rizzo. However, as of now, no charges have been filed. When pressed for an explanation, the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on why they have not taken action.
Implications for Kenosha County Cases
Now residing in Boston, Massachusetts, Rizzo is still being called to testify in cases he previously investigated. His credibility is expected to be a key target for defense attorneys, who may argue that his documented history of lying and violating a restraining order undermines the integrity of any cases he was involved in.
77 Responses
Wow! Phoenix PD is a chart topper with deadly force,excessive force,discrimination etc ,etc,etc. This ass clown needs to go!
As much as I like the sheriff and his people, who did the background check on this guy and how did he ever pass it. The self-serving statement about high standards doesn’t stand up to the light of day. The high standards would be better served if he was never hired in the first place and if they did a good background check that should never, ever have happened. Can’t we get qualified people without that baggage???
That was my implication. If he can’t even hang on to his job in phoenix perhaps the home depot would be a better fit.
He wasn’t hired under Zoerners watch.
Don’t they do internal audits or something? Quit pointing fingers. They could’ve sniffed him out still.
yes he was. this was last year..
This guys family is fairly connected (/s) in Kenosha. He also coached at Bradford for years.
Don’t think Mike coached Bradford, it was Matt who is over at St. Joes now.
Matt has his own skeletons. Just ask around.
Oh yes, he does! The stuff he has done at that school to good families is not in line with a true “Catholic Identity.” Just saying…
Matt is no better…he wants all the accolades and will do whatever it takes to get them….was once overheard outside of school mocking and making fun of emails that came from St. Joes staff because they said GOD BLESS at the end….he has no place at that school.
He is totally unfit. Too bad St. Joe’s can’t find adequate leadership. Freund is proving to be irreplaceable. Rizzo seems to only care about the success of his D6 football team.
He is a cousin of Ajay Pierangeli.
https://kenoshacountyeye.com/2024/10/11/judge-keeps-bail-at-500000-for-man-who-killed-two-friends-testimony-taken-in-hearing-to-suppress-evidence/
This family thinks they are all above the law. It is really sad.
Kevin-
Didn’t Rizzo family members write letters to the court asking for leniency for Pierangeli? I remember an article where you posted the letters.
Yes.
The Italians stick together family or not. They use to get away with so much shit and still trying to but times have changed.
Perhaps the sheriff’s department and Kenosha Unified have similar hiring processes.
This guy is a creep. A few years ago her was all over the dating apps in Kenosha. He does not like taking no for an answer and he will harass you if you turn him down. I bet there are many ladies who can attest to this behavior.
He*
So….he was all over the dating apps which means you were, too, to know this? Kind of odd.
He’s a cop what do you expect. He is hot though
With that mustache? Lol
Take away the pornstache and hes hot lol
Sorry, I do not see the appeal.
Maybe the ex is lying
Grew up with Mike, played football with him and he is the only person that made me see white flashes of light. What we now know as TBI. Nonetheless, I call bullshit, not his character. 90% of the nonsense that comes out in divorce proceedings is just that, nonsense. FUCK the family court where you can throw unfounded allegations against your spouse and have them become official.
Sounds like you have some CTE, this wasn’t some he said she said bullshit. He violated his restraining order. All he had to do was let it go.
I guess I played with you too. I agree that even though he was cocky and kind of a dick at times, he was a pretty solid guy. At least in comparison to other popular rich kids. Was always nice to me even though I wasn’t in that special group. Heck of an RB too.
Lock this mother fucker up for life, this is some serious shit, call in the FBI.
‘ by sending birthday cards to his ex-fiancée and calling her on her birthday.’
A no contact order means to have no contact, not to continue to harass.
Please bitch, nothing says I love you more than a restraining order.
Is that you Jason Barnhill?
I would like to see the Kenosha Brady List.
Me too! Kevin can you get it?
Is he the Kenosha officer I heard went viral for cheating on some chick in another state?
Most cops are very abusive to their spouses and children . This is a proven fact !
Small peanuts compared to what alota cops do I’m fairly certain
Dude is douche and always has been. But no need for articles like this. He is no longer employed for a reason. Leave it at that.
How many comments here are from his ex twat?
Excuse me
🤣
I knew/know him, too. Comes from a really good family and always has been kind and good-hearted and I’ve known him 30-35 years. This was one of the guys on the front line during the riots, too.
In the grand scheme of things, if violating a restraining order by sending birthday cards is the worse he has done then he is a lot better than most.
I think you should read this article again.
Oh I read it. I see no allegations of physical abuse. Sounds like he had a lot of stress on him which probably isn’t unusual for police officers in their line of duty these days.
Sounds like he needs to try to come up with good ways to deal with that stress but it most certainly doesn’t mean he is a bad person.
Emotional abuse was mentioned. I do not believe that his behavior had anything to do with his job. It seems he has major problems and thinks the law does not apply to him. It is very sad.
Some crazy emotional abuse, saying happy birthday is forever trauma that she will never get over.
Well aren’t you a toxic enabler? Betcha your ex hates all your calls too. Get off your high throne buddy money doesn’t buy your way out of everything anymore.
Been married 20 years, but the first mistake Mike made was getting married to an American twat.
LOL, money does get you out of pretty much everything still and always will. Then again, I understand your comment as you likely have none and have no clue what you are even speaking about.
Are you his lawyer? If not, you should be.
The Pierangeli/Rizzo family is not wealthy. They are locals who just think that they are above the law and that rules do not apply to them. It is more of a sense of entitlement than anything else. The family is a mess and the only people defending them are those who are just like them.
Abuse is abuse whether physical or not🤦♀️
He got restraining order placed on him as a police officer. I am sure he has done plenty egregious things in order for that to happen. The violation of the restraining order just shows how crazy he is. Wow.
It seems like the Pierangeli/Rizzo family will have a lot to talk about this Easter.
Wasn’t another Deputy just recently let go too?
No worries KSD just hired the pardoned felon. All is well.
Who?
Kevin did an article on it. Scroll further down.
High standards…. Hmmmm
Is he a Boston police officer now?
No
At least Boston PD has some sense!
I knew this kid growing up he came from a good family his mother also worked for the city i do believe and she was in a car accident and lost her life this was a devastating to
the family im sure he has some issues , But at the end of the day police officer or not we all have to be accountable for are actions, The Modifier here is that some of these police officer feel they are above the law but they are not they still need to act within the law, So his day in court is what it is . If there is enough evidence well then Mrs. Rizzo
needs to be held and accountable for his actions.
Contacting his ex with a restraining order is a violation, and should be handled just as every other violation of the same statute in that county is handled.
That doesn’t negate every arrest/conviction he may have been involved in in Kenosha. If a cop or deputy get convicted of drunk driving, that in no way means the arrests they made in the previous 4 years are somehow nullified. But if there was anything not on the up and up, it should be looked into.
How did he fool the MMPI?
What does him violating the restraining order have to do with arrest/cases he has in kenosha? They’re 2 different things.
According to this article, KPD found him to be dishonest. He told lies. Thus, allowing for the potential of revisiting cases where he testified due to the fact that he may have been dishonest in court, as well.
I mean the Sheriff just hired a felon. Pardoned or not. This shit is small potatoes.
That sure does put things in perspective for these ass clowns. ANYONE can get a no contact order with no proof of a crime. It’s not like he was selling cocaine or physically abusing the cunt. He called and said happy birthday.
I’d also be curious to know why the restraining order was granted. Was it just because he didn’t show up to the hearing? That doesn’t mean shit.
It’s not that hard actually. Serve the paperwork and go to court. People do it all the time to get the other person out of the home when they can’t get them to leave
He had a restraining order placed upon him as a standing police officer. From the information provided, it sounds like he has major issues and should not be in law enforcement.
I’ve known Mike for years, to say he has ‘major issues’ is so far from the truth. I won’t defend anyone of his other relatives that have shown up on KCE lately, but Mike is a good dude.
Yeah right! The guy isn’t even a cop anymore. He is not a boy scout.
This is the kind of story and person that writes made for tv true stories! Sooner or later he will rape, beat maybe even kill a woman!
Sorry it should say that writers write true stories about
Wow! Read read read! Violating the restraining order is not just from cards & calls…he was showing up at her house, grocery store and pulled up to her in his cruiser in AZ making her feel unsafe. I’m glad he is no longer with any law enforcement. Hopefully in MA opening a pizza parlor taking his anger issues out on dough kneading.
You know how childish you sound? He pulled up next to her in his squad. Oh lord, that is some serious stuff right there.