Former Caledonia police Sgt. Robert Kittel and the Village of Caledonia have reached a confidential settlement over an age discrimination claim Kittel made against the village’s police department over a year ago.
Kittel was a 28-year veteran of the Caledonia PD in January 2015 when he says senior officers pressured him to retire. When he didn’t, Kittel says command staff exaggerated points of concern about his job performance without any concrete procedures or department rules cited as proof of violation. More, he says these things started happening shortly after he received a positive performance evaluation in which he met or exceeded most expectations and received an outstanding rating for one.
The state this summer dismissed his claim as being unfounded, so Kittel filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
While his case didn’t reach the level of a lawsuit, Caledonia trustees voted unanimously after a closed session to approve the confidential settlement, a story in The Journal Times reads.
Village Administrator Tom Christensen told the newspaper he would check with village attorneys about what information can be released.
Racine County Eye has reached out to Kittel for comment, and we will update this story if we hear from him.