Off-duty Neenah police officer jailed after disturbance

NEENAH An off-duty Neenah police supervisor was arrested Saturday on a charge of domestic disorderly conduct after a disturbance with his ex-wife at a youth baseball game at Southview Park.

Sgt. Clint Driscoll, 40, was booked into the Outagamie County Jail by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department. He was released the same day after posting a $150 bond.

Capt. David Mack of the sheriff's department said a domestic disorderly conduct charge was referred to the Winnebago County District Attorney's Office. He said no details of the case would be released pending a review by the district attorney's office.

A spokeswoman for the office said the case would be referred to a special prosecutor.

Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said his department requested that the sheriff's department investigate the complaint against Driscoll to avoid a conflict of interest.

"It's their criminal investigation," Wilkinson said. "It was brought to us, and we saw the potential conflict, so we immediately asked the sheriff's department if they would handle it."

Wilkinson said Driscoll has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the Neenah Police Department's disciplinary investigation into the incident. "The allegation is that he engaged in disorderly behavior, primarily a dialogue between him and at least one other person, in the presence of others," Wilkinson said.

Driscoll has faced employee discipline previously. In 2009, he served a 12-day unpaid suspension after he and two other off-duty Neenah police supervisors were involved in a hit-and-run crash in Appleton. In addition, he was ordered to undergo training and counseling as part of a performance improvement plan, and he was subject to a last-chance agreement for two years.

Wilkinson said Driscoll's history could affect future discipline.

"When we make a decision about what, if any, corrective action is appropriate, we certainly consider the disciplinary record," he said.

Driscoll is engaged to Mayor Dean Kaufert's daughter, but City Attorney Jim Godlewski said the mayor would have no role in the disciplinary investigation.

— Duke Behnke: 920-993-7176, or dbehnke@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @DukeBehnke