Among His Peers, Fox Lake Cop Joe Gliniewicz Was A Bad Seed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Apparently so concerned about the behavior and performance of one of their fellow officers, members of the Fox Lake Police Department wrote an extraordinary anonymous letter to the mayor, detailing myriad misdeeds by Lt. Joe Gliniewicz.
The two page-letter, written in 2009, is contained in Gliniewicz' voluminous personnel file.
Fearing he was about to be exposed for stealing money from the village's Police Explorer program, the cop known as G.I Joe killed himself, staging the scene to seem as if he was executed in a struggle with three suspects.
"Morale within the department is at an all-time low," the members wrote to then-Mayor Cynthia Irwin. "On many occasions, various members of the department have approached chief [Michael] Behan with information and complaints about Lt. Gliniewicz.
"To date the members of the police department have been disappointed time and time again with Chief Behan's lack of action."
According to his 264-page personnel file, Gliniewicz was suspended more than a half-dozen times, yet still managed to remain on the force.
According to the letter, one of those suspensions--for a total of 30 days--was "for an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate." That relationship, according to the letter, led to a lawsuit that cost the village "thousands of dollars."
The letter goes on to list more than a dozen infractions, including:
Threatening a dispatcher. [In the file, the incident centered around Gliniewicz' saying he would shoot the worker. The lieutenant responded to the incident, saying he wasn't being serious.]
A series of drinking binges, including one time in which he was found passed out in his pickup truck, behind the driver's seat, with the engine running. Other times, he refused to leave local bars and one time refused to pay a $300 tab.
Harassing women, including inappropriately touching women at a department Christmas party.
Allowing residents to use village gasoline pumps.
Taking his family on vacation in his police squad car.
Taking police records out of the station and conducting reviews of the reports in public, including confronting officers about the reports.
"Chief Behan's head-in-the-sand approach to dealing with Lt. Gliniewicz can no longer go on," the letter stated. "It has destroyed morale within the department. ... It is our sincere hope that you will address this matter."
There is no indication in the file whether Irwin took any action on the letter.
