Fired Milwaukee cop charged with forgery

A Milwaukee police officer forced to come back to work after reforms were made to toughen requirements for duty disability retirement was charged with two felonies Friday.

Nichole Lutz was charged with forgery and unauthorized use of personal identifying information on suspicion of altering a report from her doctor about what she was capable of doing on the job.

Lutz, was who hired by the Police Department in 1999, retired on duty disability in 2010 due to posttraumatic stress disorder as well as depression and panic and anxiety disorders.

Under the retirement program, officers with mental or physical disabilities are paid the equivalent of their takehome salaries tax-free.

Lutz was not suspected of misconduct and initially was placed on leave after failing a department fitness for duty exam.

In 2013, the city instituted reforms after a Journal Sentinel investigation found several officers suspected of misconduct abusing the program by claiming stress — sometimes even citing the department’s investigation as the cause of their stress.

One of those reforms was a review of previous approvals to see whether doctors’ decisions about officers’ disabilities were based on “an incorrect understanding of the police department’s limited duty policy and limited duty assignments.”

Another new requirement required certification from the Police Department saying they are unable to work limited duty, which includes tasks such as answering phones or completing paperwork. This was an about-face from the past, when the department was not even notified of duty disability applications until they were approved.

Those changes resulted in Lutz and other officers being required to return to work. Lutz was assigned to answer phones and take reports from people whose complaints did not necessarily require an officer going out to the scene, according to the criminal complaint.

She felt the assignment went against recommendations from her doctor and said she would rather monitor feeds from cameras around the city.

To receive that assignment, she altered documents from her doctor to say she was prohibited from “any interaction with the general public,” the complaint says.

The fraud was discovered when she filed a workers compensation claim with the city, the complaint says. Lutz later apologized to the doctor, “claiming desperation,” the report says.

Lutz, who was fired earlier this week for lying, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If convicted, she faces a maximum possible penalty of 12 years in prison.