Facing a laundry list of allegations, Waukesha Sheriff stood up for his detective -- but not anymore

WAUKESHA COUNTY (WITI) -- A Waukesha County Sheriff's detective with a history of acting badly is no longer on the job. The FOX6 Investigators first told you about Pete Korns in June. At that time, his boss was standing up for him -- but not anymore.

This summer, Waukesha County Sheriff Dan Trawicki told FOX6 Investigators he thought Detective Pete Korns could change his ways -- but documents obtained by FOX6 News show that didn't happen. But before he could be fired, Korns resigned from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.

Time and time again, Korns screwed up, according to internal reports from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.

Co-workers say Korns would sleep while on the job.

He has been reprimanded for a laundry list of allegations that include sleeping, using work computers thousands of times to surf Craigslist and he's even accused of looking up steroids.

Though it all, Korns' boss, Waukesha County Sheriff Dan Trawicki stuck up for him.

"For 35 years, I've known this employee Pete Korns -- from the day he started.  I supervised him personally, and realize overall he is a good employee," Sheriff Trawicki told FOX6 News this summer.

Now, Sheriff Trawicki's opinion of Korns has changed.

In just released 911 calls from an incident in early September, Korns' wife is heard calling authorities -- fearing for her safety.

Korns' wife on the 911 recording: "Can you please send a squad?"

Dispatcher: "What's going on?"

Korns' wife: "He's out of his mind right now. He's screaming at the kids. He's chopping up a Jeep with an axe."

Documents obtained by FOX6 News show Korns' son shot his father with an Air Soft rifle moments after Korns took a hatchet to a Jeep. His daughter told an officer their dad was acting like a psychopath.

Korns was suspended from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, as an investigation was launched once again.

Documents obtained by FOX6 News show days before the 911 call was made, Korns appeared to be high on opiates as he stumbled and mumbled his way down a hallway at work. Even after he was disciplined, he kept showing up late to work.

Days after his arrest, investigators scrubbed Korns' computer and found personal searches that included a criminal background search on FOX6 Investigator Meghan Dwyer, who broke the story on his initial discipline in June.

Back then, Sheriff Trawicki told FOX6 News: "If I thought he was a person who deserved to be terminated, I would make that recommendation."

Following these latest allegations, Sheriff Trawicki finally launched termination proceedings against Korns. That process was underway until Korns resigned in October.

Korns resignation becomes official at the end of November.

Waukesha police are investigating whether Korns obtained prescription pills illegally.

Korns' family tells FOX6 News it's "unfortunate" his 25 years of service are being overshadowed by recent events.

Related stories: