March 13, 2023 – Dodge Co., WI – The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is now responsible for contracting police services for the Village of Lomira. The contract went into effect this month, March 1, 2023.
The Village of Lomira Police Department had previously been under the direction of Sheriff Dale Schmidt, during a transition period which began on September 23, 2022. During this time the sheriff was able to analyze the law enforcement needs of the village.
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Notably, the Lomira Police Department has never been a full-time law enforcement agency and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office has always been responsible for law enforcement services within the village when the police department was not on duty.
The Lomira Police Department has historically averaged about 8-12 hours of police coverage per day. However, some days there were no Lomira police officers assigned to patrol the village.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office will now provide 24/7 law enforcement coverage to the Village of Lomira, with three full-time deputies being assigned to work in the village on a full-time basis. One of those deputies will also be assigned to work in Lomira Schools as a School Resource Officer (SRO) for about 20 hours per week.
Sergeant Donald Counard has been assigned to lead the law enforcement efforts within the Village of Lomira and will oversee the deputies assigned. Sergeant Counard has already made rounds through the village introducing himself to many of the business owners to establish police-community relations with those business owners. Sergeant Counard is a 28-year law enforcement veteran who has excelled in the area of community policing. He has worked in small communities before coming to the sheriff’s office and has done wonderful things with the sheriff’s office’s Fatal Vision Program and Once Chance Program. Sergeant Counard also was a criminal investigations detective and had found a niche in investigating welfare fraud cases.
Deputy Codey Bratz has also been assigned to work as a deputy in the village. Deputy Bratz comes to Dodge County after a short career in another sheriff’s office and has been a very proactive member of the sheriff’s office patrol division since joining us. Deputy Bratz is truly the “Officer Friendly” that can talk to anyone. He has been assigned temporarily as the School Resource Officer for much of the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year and has already taken time to get to know the school staff, sit in on some classes to build relationships with students and staff, and he has even taken time to get to know the students during recess. Apparently, he is a favorite when it comes time to picking teams for various team recreational events.
Deputy Jay Thielmann will be assigned to take over the SRO duties from Deputy Bratz at the end of the year. Deputy Thielmann was originally selected for the assignment, but that was delayed temporarily until about May. Deputy Thielmann is very excited about his future role in Lomira. He too is another “Officer Friendly” who will fill the role of SRO well and is described by his supervisors as very intelligent and thoughtful in how he conducts his work. Deputy Thielmann formerly was a probation and parole officer and is currently a patrol deputy working third shift.
Former Lomira Officer Brian Justman has chosen to apply to work for the sheriff’s office and was recently sworn in as our newest deputy. Deputy Brian Justman will now begin his field training with the sheriff’s office and we are excited about his future career with us. His partner, K9 Bak, has remained with him and the sheriff’s office is currently in negotiation with the Village of Lomira regarding the addition of K9 Bak to the sheriff’s office team.
The sheriff’s office looks forward to continuing its law enforcement efforts and enhancing our law enforcement presence in the Village of Lomira. It is the goal to make this transition a successful one, which will enhance law enforcement services over that which was provided previously while doing so at a reduction in cost to the residents of Lomira.
It is the mission of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of our citizens through honest, ethical, and professional service to our community. Our vision is to partner with the community to develop proactive solutions toward making Dodge County a safe and enjoyable place to live, work, and visit.
