Three Fox Lake Cops Suspended For Altercation With Man In Holding Cell
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two Fox Lake police officers and a detective have been suspended after acknowledging they broke department rules during an altercation with a drunken suspect in custody last year.
Officials also released video of the altercation inside the Fox Lake police station, which shows 36-year-old Jeffrey Grzonka in a cell after his arrest for public intoxication on Dec. 5, 2014.
"While being processed and placed in a cell, he spit at one officer, and made threatening comments," said Village Administrator Anne Marrin.
She said Grzonka also put his clothes over a camera in his cell, "prompting Officer Jason Baldowsky to enter the cell, shove the arrestee into a concrete seating area, and place his hand around the arrestee's neck."
As officers moved him to another cell, they shoved him into a wall and a door.
"While Mr. Grzonka's treatment at the hands of these officers does not rise to the level of what we have seen in the public lately, it is not acceptable, and not the conduct expected by a Fox Lake police officer," Marrin said.
Gzonka did not want to file a complaint, but the village offered him a $4,000 settlement, which he accepted.
"Just to be clear here, his disorderly behavior – while inexcusable – did not authorize or justify these officers' conduct," Marrin said.
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Baldowsky originally was suspended for four days shortly after the altercation, but Marrin said former Police Chief Michael Behan did not conduct a thorough investigation, so a new investigation was launched in August, and Behan and Baldowsky were placed on paid leave.
Behan has since retired, and Baldowsky has been suspended for an additional 16 days. Officer Shane Campion has been suspended 30 days, and Officer Eric Ewald has been suspended 10 days.
The suspensions come on the heels of another black eye for Fox Lake police, the staged suicide of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz. Authorities initially believed Gliniewicz had been murdered on Sept. 1, but last month announced an investigation revealed his death to be a "carefully staged" suicide at a time the lieutenant was under investigation for stealing money from the Fox Lake Police Explorer training program.
"Both this incident, and the news of the embezzlement scheme concocted by Joe Gliniewicz are stark reminders of what can happen when officers are not held accountable," Marrin said.
A fourth officer involved in the altercation with Grzonka remained under investigation as of Friday. Unlike the other three officers, who have acknowledged wrongdoing, that officer has denied breaking any rules.
Fox Lake officials said they have contacted Lake County prosecutors and the FBI regarding their investigation.
