Suicide of Joe Gliniewicz

Joe Gliniewicz
Born	Charles Joseph Gliniewicz August 25, 1963 Libertyville, Illinois
Died	September 1, 2015 (aged 52) Fox Lake, Illinois 42°23′16″N 88°10′15″W / 42.38778°N 88.17083°WCoordinates: 42°23′16″N 88°10′15″W / 42.38778°N 88.17083°W
Cause of death	Self-inflicted gunshot wounds
Burial place	Hillside East Cemetery Antioch, Illinois 42°28′49″N 88°03′56″W / 42.48028°N 88.06556°W
Residence	Antioch, Illinois
Other names	"G.I. Joe"
Alma mater	Kaplan University
Occupation	Law enforcement officer
Years active	1985–2015
Employer	Fox Lake Police Department Fox Lake, Illinois
Salary	$96,000
Spouse(s)	Melodie A. (née Resetar) (m. 1989)
Children	Joseph Gliniewicz (son) Donald "D.J." Gliniewicz (son) Jeffrey Gliniewicz (son) David Gliniewicz (son)

On the morning of September 1, 2015, Lt. Charles Joseph "Joe" Gliniewicz of the Fox Lake, Illinois Police Department was found dead, in woods bordering U.S. 12 in Fox Lake. Originally thought to have been killed with his own .40-caliber service weapon by three unknown assailants, two months of intense investigation led the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and the Lake County Coroner's Office to conclude that Gliniewicz had actually committed suicide. Investigators believe that Gliniewicz killed himself after learning that his long-term criminal activity faced imminent exposure from an audit of department finances that had been under his direct control.^[1][2][3][4]

Background

Fox Lake, Illinois

Fox Lake is a village in Grant and Antioch townships in Lake County and Burton Township in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is in the northeast corner of the state and partially borders Wisconsin. The population was 10,579 at the 2010 census.^[5]

Joe Gliniewicz

Charles Joseph "Joe" Gliniewicz (August 25, 1963 – September 1, 2015) had been an officer with the Fox Lake Police Department for 30 years, beginning April 22, 1985. At the time of his death, he held the rank of lieutenant and had been scheduled to retire in a month. Gliniewicz was an Army veteran who served in active duty and reserve from 1981 until 2007. He left the military with a rank of first sergeant.

Incident

Prior to the shooting, Gliniewicz had radioed dispatchers at 7:52 a.m., claiming to be in pursuit of three suspects (two male whites and one male black) at the Prairie Material Yard #23, an abandoned cement plant, at 128 Honing Road in Fox Lake. Gliniewicz's death was initially assumed to be a result of this pursuit, which spurred a massive manhunt with more than 400 law enforcement officers on foot, all-terrain vehicles and horseback raking through the heavy woods near Fox Lake.^[6]

Aftermath

Initial public reactions

Thousands of people attended Gliniewicz's funeral. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner ordered flags at state buildings to be flown at half-staff.^[7] Many early reactions to his death in the media blamed it on a "war on cops" and Black Lives Matter.^[8][9]

September suicide claim

In early September, Joseph Battaglia, a former Chicago police officer, was calling police agencies and media outlets insisting the death was a suicide. Battaglia was arrested on September 13 and charged with two counts of disorderly conduct after calling Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd's office and threatening Rudd and the commander of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, if they did not declare the death a suicide.^[10][11]

Investigation

An investigation revealed that Gliniewicz's death had been, in the words of Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko, a "carefully staged suicide." The investigators also learned Gliniewicz had been stealing and laundering money for "at least seven years" from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post 300, a program that mentored young people hoping to become law enforcement officers. Gliniewicz is believed to have been concerned that "a thorough internal audit" of Fox Lake municipal government would unearth proof of his embezzlement.^[6] He had even gone as far as to ask a prominent gang member to kill the village administrator who was conducting the audit.^[12]

Further investigation discovered a litany of issues during the officer's career, including threatening an emergency dispatcher with a gun, allegations of sexual harassment, and numerous suspensions.^[13]

In November 2015, police revealed that Gliniewicz's wife and son, D.J., are under investigation.^[14] On January 27, 2016, Gliniewicz's wife, Melodie, was indicted on four counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit, and two counts of money laundering.^[15] On February 3, 2016, Melodie Gliniewicz pleaded not guilty on these charges.^[16]

On February 2, 2016, authorities obtained a seizure order for five bank accounts that the Lake County state's attorney's office believes contain funds from the Fox Lake Explorers.^[17]

Reactions to investigation

During the announcement that Gliniewicz death was a suicide, Filenko said, "Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens he served and the entire law enforcement community."^[18]

References

1. Wagner, Laura (September 2, 2015). "Dragnet Expanded For 3 Suspects In Killing Of Illinois Police Officer". NPR. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
2. Peralta, Eyder (November 4, 2015). "Investigation Finds Illinois Cop At Center Of Manhunt Shot Himself". NPR. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
3. Black, Lisa (November 4, 2015). "Sources: Fox Lake officer's death a suicide". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
4. Miller, Michael (November 4, 2015). "Reports: Illinois cop whose shooting sparked nationwide outrage actually killed himself". Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
5. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Fox Lake village, Illinois". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
6. Castillo, Mariano (4 November 2015). "Death of Fox Lake, Illinois, officer a 'carefully staged suicide'". CNN. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
7. McLaughlin, Eliott C.; Almasy, Steve (7 September 2015). "Fox Lake officer laid to rest in Antioch, Illinois". CNN. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
8. "KING: Black Lives Matter was blamed for Gliniewicz's suicide". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
9. Balko, Radley (2015-11-05). "A partial list of pundits, politicians and media outlets who used Joseph Gliniewicz's death to push the 'war on cops' narrative". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
10. Black, Lisa (September 13, 2015). "Ex-cop charged with threatening officials in Fox Lake officer shooting case". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
11. Sanchez, Ray (September 15, 2015). "Fox Lake officer's killing: Feds reduce involvement in Joe Gliniewicz case". CNN. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
12. "Official: Cop Who Killed Himself Sought to Have Village Administrator Killed". WMAQ-TV. November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
13. Babwin, Dan; Webber, Tammy (November 6, 2015). "Personnel records show years of complaints against officer". AP.org. Associated Press. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
14. Fuller, Ruth; Dudek, Mitch; Grimm, Andy (November 4, 2015). "Dead Fox Lake cop's wife, son under investigation". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
15. Goudie, Chuck Hope, Leah (January 27, 2016). "Grand Jury Indicts Fox Lake Officer Widow Melodie Gliniewicz", WLS-TV. Retrieved February 3, 2016
16. Relerford, Michelle (February 3, 2016). "Fox Lake Widow Pleads Not Guilty to Laundering, Misuse of Charitable Funds", WMAQ-TV. Retrieved February 3, 2016
17. "Authorities seize 5 bank accounts tied to Fox Lake cop's widow", Chicago Tribune, February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016
18. Hinkel, Dan; Zumbach, Lauren (November 4, 2015). "Officials say Fox Lake cop stole from youth program, killed himself". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2015.