Chippewa County Board Shares Sheriff Hakes Investigation Report

The Chippewa County Board has released the final report in their investigation of Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes.

An investigation into the County Sheriff was launched this past summer by the Chippewa County Board after allegations of harassment towards a female dispatcher. Questions also emerged regarding Sheriff Hakes’ time with the Chetek Police Department and the Village of Elk Mound.

Other topics of the investigation included allegations that Sheriff Hakes conducted private business during work hours, missed meetings and trainings he should have attended, and lied to the investigator about a number of things. The investigation noted that he resigned from the Chetek Police Department before comments he made to a victim about body camera footage could be investigated.

That incident has led to Brady/Giglio concerns regarding the Sheriff, and prompted Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell to recommend that Sheriff Hakes not be involved in investigations or the handling of evidence going forward.

The conclusion of the report stated “The findings of this continued investigation provide substantial evidence of the dishonesty of Sheriff Hakes in his responses to the First Report issued in this matter and his multiple public statements issued since September 20, 2023.”

In his response to the final investigation report, Sheriff Hakes said “As a taxpaying citizen of Chippewa County, I am utterly disgusted by the absolute waste of resources spent on yet another agenda-driven report meant to discredit my name.” He also disputed a number of points made in the final investigation and criticized Chippewa County for spending over $100,000 on the investigation and holding closed sessions repeatedly.

At their last meeting, the Chippewa County Board voted that they had no confidence in Sheriff Hakes, and moved to receive law enforcement information from the Deputy Chief going forward. The investigation was also passed to District Attorney Newell.