Caponera chosen to lead police department

Jeff Caponera has been named the new Grafton Police chief after an 11-month search.

On Monday, the Grafton Village Board unanimously approved the Police and Fire Commission’s recommendation to hire Caponera after officials met with three candidates for the job during a public meet-and-greet event July 8. 

“It’s exciting. I’m honored and humbled the Police and Fire Commission and Village Board have faith in my abilities to bring me on board,” Caponera told Ozaukee Press.

“One of the things I realized when I visited is the folks really care about the village. In the brief conversations I’ve had with some of them, I got a sense of community, which is what any police chief and resident would want.

“I felt welcomed, and Grafton is a place where I can see myself spending the rest of my career.”

Caponera, who has been the police chief of the City of Anna, Texas, since 2018, said he learned about the opening from Ozaukee County Undersheriff Christy Knowles, who he met at the FBI National Academy.

His current department is 25 miles outside of Dallas and serves a population of 20,000 people that grows by an average of 1,200 residents per year.

Caponera, 47, has nearly 25 years of law enforcement experience in the Dallas and Denver metropolitan areas, and he is a second-generation police officer. 

Caponera began his career in 1995 with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado, where he worked for two years. From there, he moved to the City of Thornton, Colo., where he remained until 2003 when he and his wife Janna moved to Texas.

He worked with the Collin County Constable’s Office from 2005 to 2008 before accepting a sergeant position in the City of Anna, where he has worked since.

The two other candidates the Police and Fire Commission considered were retired Milwaukee Captain Peter Pierce and Deputy Chief Mark Rather of the Village of East Troy.

“Jeff Caponera was chosen for his great communication skills, character and deep understanding of becoming a main representative for the Grafton community,” Police and Fire Commission Chairman Paul Moroder said.

“We look forward to him taking an already great department staff and growing future leaders in the law enforcement community.” 

Moroder said the commission was grateful to Emmett Grissom for serving as acting police chief during an 11-month nationwide search for a replacement for Charles Wenten, who retired in September 2019. 

In his first year as chief, Caponera said, he wants to focus on assessing the department’s day-to-day operations.

“I’ll try to figure what needs to be improved and what doesn’t need to be improved. I’m a person who believes in if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. But if it needs to be fixed, let’s work on it and get it done because you want to run an efficient police department,” he said. 

“Policing is an evolving animal. From day to day, there’s a change whether it be legislative or societal, but the demands that are placed upon a police department should be something it can grow with.”

Caponera has two adult sons, and his wife is an accountant. After researching the village, the police department and the surrounding area, Caponera said he decided Grafton would be a good fit for him and his wife, who are seeking to escape the long hot summers of Texas.

Caponera’s first day with the Grafton department will be Sept. 21. His salary will be $105,000 per year.