City Council Approves Outside Investigation Into Internal Issues With Superior Police Dept.

SUPERIOR, Wis. — Urgent internal struggles within the Superior Police Department will officially be handled by an outside consultant for no more than $50,000 after the city council unanimously approved the measure at tonight’s city council meeting.

Last month, Mayor Jim Paine told the Public Safety Committee there are a number of cultural issues,
interpersonal conflicts and potential personnel concerns within the police department that have overwhelmed the ability of senior administration to fix, which includes Police Chief Paul Winterscheidt who took over as chief at the beginning of last year.

“The issues are very complex, and they’re beyond the professional experience of most of the folks that we have on staff now,” Mayor Paine told FOX 21 Tuesday. “We need to have our police department functioning at the highest possible level, and we need to do that as quickly as possible. And it’s worth spending some money to make sure that that that department is functioning.”

While specific issues within the Superior Police Department have not been publicly released, FOX 21 has reported police investigator Mikayla LeRette, who is Chief Winterscheidt wife, filed the lawsuit against the city in March.

The lawsuit alleges LeRette was not properly provided a place to pump breast milk upon her return from pregnancy leave 2022.

And in 2024, LeRette said her squad car was illegally tracked by Capt. Thomas Champaigne.

Court documents do not reference why her department vehicle was allegedly being tracked.

Mayor Paine told FOX 21 the city has the facilities and policies necessary to fully support pregnant and breastfeeding mothers over and above the requirements imposed by law.

Meanwhile, according to the Superior Telegram, investigator LeRette’s lawsuit follows an internal investigation conducted last year into whether LeRette misrepresented her working hours and took absences without authorized leave.