Department History

The Kewaskum Police Department was started in 1895, when David Casey was elected village marshal.  He resigned on June 4, 1896 and Charles Schaeffer was appointed to replace him the following month.  Resolution #2 in April 1897 fixed the marshal’s salary at $50.00 per year, although he did not serve during the summer months.

In 1889, P.J. Smith was appointed marshal, followed by George Brandt, Sr. in 1890.  In  1891 David Casey was appointed marshal and served until 1901.  In 1901 the position was filled by Jacob Schlosser.  In 1902 P.J. Smith was re-appointed marshal and held the position for one year.  George Brandt Jr. was appointed as marshal in 1903 and held the office until 1938.

Resolution 38-1, which was passed on May 2, 1938 created the position of traffic officer, at a salary of $100 per month, plus $15 per month car allowance.  The first man to hold this new position was George Brandt Jr. In April 1942 George Kippenhan was appointed village marshal and was replaced by Edmund Haack, who was appointed law enforcement in April 1947.

Officer Haack was appointed to be Kewaskum’s first chief of police in May 1952 at a salary of $300 per month, plus a car allowance of $85 per month.  Chief Haack remained until September 30, 1953 when he was replaced by Gerhard Guttman.

In March of 1955 Roland Pledl was sworn in as chief, replacing Guttman, who resigned the previous January.  Under Chief Pledl an eleven man auxiliary police force was established in February 1956.  This force was to be used in the event of a serious accident, evacuation, fire, plane crash, etc.  The force is still active today .

In 1969 Chief Pledl retired and was succeeded by Donald J. Hlavaty.  Hlavaty headed a force of 4 full-time officers and 4 part-time officers with one squad car provided by the village.  In 1975, under Hlavaty, the Kewaskum Police Department became a full-time department,  with 24 hour, seven day a week coverage.

Donald Hlavaty retired as chief on September 1, 1988 and Richard L. Knoebel was appointed chief at that time.  On July 1, 2011, Richard L. Knoebel retired after 38 years of service with the Village of Kewaskum.  Thomas F. Bishop was sworn in as chief of police on February 20, 2012.  The Department now has 8 full time officers, including the chief.