Minutes after criminal charges were filed Tuesday against a Kenosha police officer accused of domestic violence, he resigned from the police department.
Kurtiss J. Kessler, 35, of Kenosha, was charged with misdemeanors for alleged disorderly conduct and battery, both related to domestic abuse. If convicted, he faces one year in jail. The conviction would be Kessler’s second for a domestic-related incident.
In a sign that he may not challenge the charges, Kessler’s lawyer asked for a plea hearing. Typically, several other hearings are held before a defendant enters pleas.
Kessler is set to enter pleas March 17 before Kenosha County Circuit Judge Wilbur W. Warren III. Sentencing could happen that same day, since no pre-sentence investigation reported is required for misdemeanor cases.
Shortly after his court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey said Kessler turned in his resignation, effective immediately.
“It’s just a simple one-line resignation: that he resigned from the police department, effective (Tuesday), and he is leaving for personal reasons,” Morrissey said.
Kessler, a Kenosha police officer for more than 11 years, was suspended without pay from the police department after he was arrested Feb. 9 for allegedly pushing his girlfriend, pulling her hair and hitting her with a shoe.
Morrissey said Kessler’s resignation was not part of any deal worked out with the city. No internal investigation had been done, and none will be now that Kessler is no longer a city employee, he said. The chief declined to predict whether Kessler and the department might have parted ways.
Kessler is not eligible for any compensation under his resignation; he did not have any accrued vacation, holiday or compensatory time, and officers do not have sick time, Morrissey said.
The criminal complaint filed Tuesday alleges that an argument between Kessler and his girlfriend, the mother of his nearly 2-year-old son, turned violent. Kessler allegedly grabbed her hair and later, the woman told police, threw a shoe at her. Police said there were no visible injuries.
Kessler is out of jail on bond.
Kessler reportedly said he did not want her to leave, but the woman went to the door. Kessler allegedly grabbed the woman by the hair from behind and pulled her to the floor. When she got up and continued toward the door, the woman said Kessler threw a shoe at her.
There were no visible injuries.
The woman told sheriff’s deputies that she wanted to report the incident, but she did not want Kessler to lose his job. Prosecutors said she has considered recanting her statement.
Kessler has a previous conviction for a 2003 domestic-related incident. He was accused of pointing a gun at his then-girlfriend’s head. Kessler pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors. He served three days in jail, paid a fine and had two years probation. He also was suspended from the police department for 55 days without pay, but allowed to return to work.
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