Waupun and North Fond du Lac Police Departments to each get new chiefs

A change in command is taking place at two local police departments after chiefs in both departments have announced resignations.

In Waupun, Chief Scott Louden announced on December 8th he was leaving, and a special meeting of the city’s police and fire commission named Deputy Chief Jeremy Rasch to serve as interim chief during the process of hiring a new chief.

Rasch has been with the Waupun Police Department for 22 years, and says though he is hoping to be appointed the next chief, there is a process that needs to be followed. “There’s an internal process the commission wants to complete. They’re meeting with staff to see what they want in a chief. And then ultimately there’s going to be some interviews and probably some community engagement where members of the community can come in and speak with the candidates.”

Rasch says he feels there are other candidates within the department that would fit in well as chief and the commission is hoping to have the position filled by late January or early February.

In the village of North Fond du Lac, current chief Darren Pautsch, who has been with the North Fond du Lac department for 30 years, has announced he will be retiring January 2nd and 2nd in command Pete Vergos will take over as interim Chief.

Vergos started his law enforcement career in North Fond du Lac in 2003 and remained there until 2008 when he moved to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. After moving up the ranks there, Vergos went back to North Fond du Lac in 2022 where he was made a lieutenant and second in command.

Similar to Waupun, the North Fond du Lac Police and Fire Commission will need to go through candidates and pick the next chief. Unlike Waupun however, Vergos expects the commission to open up to candidates outside the north FDL department in the search for a new chief.

Though Vergos says his passion is doing investigative work for the department, he doesn’t rule out wanting to be appointed the next chief. “I think it would be an incredible honor to lead the department, and I just want to do what’s good for my team here, and I want to do what’s good for the community around me.”

Vergos expects the process of finding the new chief to take a couple months.