Search for new police chief narrowed to three finalists

After a 10-month search, the Grafton Police and Fire Commission has narrowed its search for a police chief to three finalists.

From 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, the candidates will meet with village officials and the public at Zaun Pavilion in Lime Kiln Park for a meet-and-greet event. 

The finalists include Chief Jeff Caponera of the City of Anna, Texas, Deputy Chief Mark Rather of the Village of East Troy and Lt. Peter Pierce of Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Police and Fire Commission Chairman Paul Moroder said about 40 people applied for the position. The commission used an outside agency, GovHR USA, during the search process to narrow down the list of candidates.

“We came up with a dozen stakeholders from the acting chief, the schools superintendent, Village Board members and fire department chief,” he said. “(GovHR USA) went over what their concerns would be going forward, what their challenges are and what the community could expect from the next chief.” 

Moroder said the commission interviewed six candidates and came up with three finalists. He said the process was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Moroder said the July 8 meet-and-greet event will give the commission a chance to see the candidates interact with the public.

“There is a lot of stuff that goes on with interviewing such as nonverbal communication to see how they will react to our questions,” he said. “We want to see how they interact with the community.”

Caponera is the chief of the City of Anna, Texas, Police Department, where he has served since 2008. He has nearly 25 years of law enforcement experience in police agencies in the Dallas and Denver metropolitan areas. 

He said he became aware of the position through a mutual friend at the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office. 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.

“The hometown feel of Grafton coupled with its dynamic growth and opportunity is what attracted me to the Village,” he wrote in an email.

Rather began his career in law enforcement as a dispatcher with the City of West Allis Police Department 23 years ago. In 2000, he became an officer with the Village of West Milwaukee Police Department. During his 17 years with the department, he was promoted to detective, sergeant and lieutenant. In 2018, he became deputy chief of the Village of East Troy Police Department. He said he believes in community-oriented policing and has been involved with events like National Night Out, Neighborhood Watch and Shop with a Cop, he said.

“Having spent most of my career in a similar-size agency, I was drawn to Grafton,” he wrote in an email. “I believe I can build relationships to allow both the department and community to flourish.” 

Pierce has been a lieutenant with Milwaukee Area Technical College since July of 2019. He was previously superintendent of juvenile detention in Milwaukee County and served with the City of Milwaukee Police Department for 26 years, retiring in 2016 as captain. Pierce did not respond to messages from Ozaukee Press for comment.

Moroder said he expects the commission to select a chief when it meets on Thursday, July 9.

Former Grafton Police Chief Charles Wenten retired in September 2019 after 16 years with the department. Wenten went on to pursue a career in retirement involving background investigations.

Wenten was succeeded by Emmett Grissom, who is the acting chief.

“He (Grissom) is a huge stakeholder for the citizens and department members. He is going to be a major part of this process,” Moroder said. 

“Grissom is going to be the front person working with this new chief.”