By Dee J. Hall
The Wisconsin State Journal
MADISON, Wis. — More than two years ago, Oakhill Correctional Institution was roiled by a series of firings and demotions related to the suicide of Oakhill officer Philip Otto. The fallout from that incident continues as three officers await a decision about whether they were wrongfully terminated.
A months-long investigation in 2012 by the Department of Corrections concluded that Otto, a 20-year veteran of the agency, was teased, shunned and subjected to false allegations from coworkers at the minimum-security prison in Fitchburg. DOC fired three Oakhill correctional officers and a supervisor. The security director was returned to a previous position.
A sergeant, Sherri Mudd, opted to retire early after DOC officials accused her and the others of bullying Otto before he took his own life in March 2012, just months before he planned to retire with full benefits. Peggy Otto said the final nine months of her husband’s time at Oakhill had been “miserable.”
The three fired officers — Rachel Koester, Matthew Seiler and Justyn Witscheber — have contested their terminations, saying they never bullied Otto and cannot be held responsible for his decision to end his own life. In an interview with the State Journal, Koester had called the DOC investigation a “reprehensible one-sided witch hunt.” Witscheber claimed he was retaliated against when he protested the treatment of his fellow officers.
Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission hearing examiner Stuart Levitan said the appeals by the three consumed 16 days of hearings with more than 50 witnesses and a transcript spanning more than 3,000 pages. That record has been sealed at the request of the officers, he said.
Because of the volume of information and evidence, Levitan said, his draft decision on the three appeals has taken longer than normal.
After Levitan issues his recommendations, both sides will have the opportunity to object with the final decision made by the two-member Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, chief legal counsel Peter Davis said.
Capt. Michael Buettner also was fired for allegedly failing to act on verbal reports of the harassment. Buettner also challenged his termination. Under a settlement agreement, he was reinstated and agreed to a demotion to lieutenant, DOC spokeswoman Joy Staab said.
Oakhill’s then-security director Ryan Blount was returned to his previous position after a trial period for reasons unrelated to the Otto matter, Staab said. He is now a staff development specialist for the department.