A Kenosha police officer is taking his discrimination lawsuit to a federal appeals court. Officer Pep Moretti, formerly known as Peter Percak, filed an appeal on Thursday, Nov. 12, one week after his lawsuit was dismissed.
U.S. District Judge William Griesbach granted summary judgment on Nov. 5 in favor of the City of Kenosha, former Police Chief Eric Larsen and Police Chief Patrick Patton, ending the case at the district court level without a trial.
Moretti, who has worked for the Kenosha Police Department since 2009, sued over sergeant promotion decisions in 2022 and 2023, when he was passed over for promotion. Griesbach found he had not produced sufficient evidence that either chief discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation, and also rejected his claim that the department retaliated against him for filing a discrimination complaint by reducing his field training officer assignments.
Moretti's attorney, Madison lawyer Amy F. Scarr, filed the notice of appeal seeking review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The filings do not spell out specific errors in the 24-page decision. The Nov. 5 judgment remains in effect unless the appeals court reverses or modifies it, and Moretti has received no promotion or monetary relief through the lawsuit.
Moretti was also the subject of a 2016 sexual assault investigation by the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department after a 20-year-old man accused him of drugging and assaulting him. Moretti told investigators the encounter was consensual. The case was referred to the Walworth County District Attorney, who declined to file criminal charges, and a Kenosha police internal review closed without disciplinary action.
