By Ryan Spoehr
SLN STAFF
The Police and Fire Commission has selected Police Chief Lisa Otterbacher’s successor, opting to go with Aaron Raap, a 26-year veteran of the Milwaukee Police Department.
Whitewater communications director Kristin Mickelson issued the announcement in a press release Thursday night.
“I worked almost everywhere – not everywhere because it’s a large agency, but nearly everywhere from investigations to patrol to detective to captain,” Raap said at a March 1 meet and greet with community members.
“I ran the downtown police district, and I ran homicide before I retired.”
Raap lives in Milwaukee, where he works for Ascension Healthcare as the second in charge of security for seven hospitals in the Milwaukee area.
“We are thrilled that Aaron Raap will be the next chief of police for the City of Whitewater,” Police and Fire Commission President Glenn Hayes said. “Throughout the entire process and pool of candidates from across the country, Aaron stood out. He has a remarkable depth of experience in law enforcement, outstanding leadership skills and a truly genuine demeanor.”
He ran the neighborhood task force, which is almost all of the special units within the city combined into one department, holding that position for about 18 months.
Raap, while a member of the Milwaukee Police Department, worked with four college campuses.
“Aaron has worked and led in a wide variety of ethnic populations, businesses and neighborhood settings, including having universities in his district,” Hayes said.
Raap said at the meet and greet that he is interested in being a part of a small-city atmosphere.
“I’ve actually traveled here in the last four to five weeks on my own self-guided tours, once with my wife actually,” Raap said at the meet and greet. “I drove up and down Main Street, Whitewater Avenue, the campus area, the old residential areas, the newer residential areas and the outlying areas all the way out to Whitewater Lake.”
Also involved on the hiring process were City Manager Cameron Clapper, representatives from the Police Department, personnel from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, representatives from the Whitewater Unified School District, Jefferson County Sheriff Paul Milbrath, Walworth County Sheriff Kurt Picknell and Mickelson.
Raap was a finalist for the job along with Michael Scott of McHenry, Ill. The two were interviewed throughout the day on March 1.
Otterbacher will retire on June 1.
For more about the hiring, pick up the March 22 edition of the Whitewater Register.
