Lisa Otterbacher prepares to turn the next page after serving 28 years in Whitewater police department
By Todd Mishler
Copy Editor
“I’m not sure what planted the seed, but there was never a question in my mind,” Lisa Otterbacher said about deciding to become a cop at age 7. “I remember watching ‘Police Woman’ with Angie Dickinson … seeing that a girl could be a cop proved I wasn’t crazy, and it was powerful.
“But my parents were so supportive all along and told me there’s nothing you can’t do, and that’s all I needed to hear.”
Still, that doesn’t mean the 31-year law enforcement veteran didn’t stumble along the way in realizing her dream, which ended June 1 with her retirement from the Whitewater Police Department, the last seven as its chief.
“I remember taking one of those (career) tests as a sophomore in high school and answering everything so it showed I could be a cop, and then it didn’t,” she said from the deck of her home near Whitewater Lake. “I was so upset when I got home, but Mom said that was ridiculous. She was always positive and said it was in my DNA.
“I’ve always believed that law enforcement was my calling,” Otterbacher added. “Cops are just wired a little bit different. They’re the ones who go in when everybody else is running away.”
Read more about what Otterbacher had to say as she reflects on her career and looks toward the future in the June 14 Whitewater Register.
