Franklin Mayor and former Waterford Police lieutenant John Nelson continued to deny any wrongdoing after numerous allegations calling into question his conduct when he was a police officer. The denials occurred during an event April 30 at the Franklin Public Library and covered as part of a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Adrienne Davis published May 7 in Milwaukee’s Southwest Now.
Nelson, his partner and several other officers from the Waterford Police Department were placed on administrative leave May 6, 2024. Nelson, a lieutenant, retired from the department on Oct. 11, 2024, amid an internal investigation into muliple complaints about his conduct.
According to documents related to the investigation and obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the allegations against Nelson include: Fostering a hostile work environment, sexually harassing or making inap-propriate comments toward female officers, making them feel “verbally violated”; sexual comments and ongoing flirting toward female civilians, showing inappropriate images of females Nelson allegedly dated or had sexual relations with to other officers; improper use of Town of Waterford resources while campaigning for mayor and conducting mayoral business for Franklin, derogatory/unprofessional phone conduct while on duty in the presence of other personnel, preferential treatment in scheduling officers, retaliation against some officers, failure to use the FTO program, a full-time officer program related to training, oversight of an unauthorized private security service getting paid in cash, and dissemination of sensitive information containing an employee’s personnel file to other department members.
In an April 28 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nelson denied all allegations, claiming there were never any official complaints or grievances filed against him. He said the accusations were part of a “he said, she said” narrative targeting him. Nelson repeated those denials during the town hall, accusing media outlets and social media users of attacking him over the allegations.
Nelson also faces misconduct allegations from his 26-year tenure at the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office prior to his time in Waterford.
WTMJ-4 in Milwaukee has reported that disciplinary records show allegations of Nelson cheating on law enforcement exams and sexually harassing a female corrections officer. Nelson said the allegations aren’t true and that the woman involved in the complaint had issues with other employees in two different locations while he was a lieutenant at the sheriff’s office.
Nelson also said the reports about him cheating on his exams were not true and claimed that he offered to take the test orally in front of the class. The Journal Sentinel has submitted an open records request to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.
