DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — According to documents NBC 26 obtained through an open records request, Door County Sheriff Deputy Curt Vandertie was suspended for 12 days without pay in March 2022. He was also removed from his supervisor and field training responsibilities.
According to personnel records, Vandertie wasted taxpayer money by spending 542 minutes of personal business while he was on the clock.
This included watching his kids' sporting events, going to Door County KOA Holiday in Brussels and the Brussels-Union-Gardner (B.U.G.) Fire Department, where he serves as chief.
He was also found in violation of the department's anti-harassment policy for allegedly yelling at a female deputy.
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Vandertie declined to be interviewed for this story, but a statement on his website suggested the actions against him were politically motivated. He noted that the investigation into his conduct began short after he notified Sheriff Tammy Sternard that he would run to replace her.
Sternard, who is the Democratic candidate in the election, also declined to be interviewed. She referred questions regarding Vandertie to Door County's attorney, Sean Donohue.
"Any inference that the investigation took place because of or was influenced by Deputy Vandertie informing the Sheriff he planned to run for the position of sheriff is not accurate," Donohue said in a statement to NBC 26.
Meanwhile, Independent candidate Randy Wagner told me he was "fairly disgusted" by Vandertie's claims in the public statement, saying that the Republican is not admitting any guilt. Wagner also says that Vandertie used the incident with the female deputy to victimize himself.
Sternard herself has not been without controversy. As NBC 26 reported in June, the Door County Deputy Sheriff Association took a vote of no confidence against Sternard— a move she called "baseless."
"I have verified with Human Resources (that) there are no substantiated complaints or discipline in my HR file," Sternard said in a statement to NBC 26. "Like anyone with a long career in law enforcement, I have had supervisors talk with me about things I could have done better, as well as complaints or concerns that may have come up."
Wagner shared his disciplinary record from his 21 years as an officer with the Denver Police Department to his campaign's social media pages. This included missing court in 2003 and 2005, and being suspended four days for using inappropriate force in 2018.
NBC 26 will stay with this story ahead of the general election on Nov. 3.
