GI Joe suicide scandal now gives public "one more reason to hate us." What are your views?

2015-11-05T11:16:06-05:00

From my perspective - real cop, real police departments, real police work...

These are the historical facts, as reported in the Media and by law enforcement officials:

According to the latest police public information releases, Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz of the Fox Lake (Ill.) Police Department staged an elaborate suicide made to look like a line of duty death. Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said that Gliniewicz had embezzled thousands of dollars from the department’s Explorer program and “was under increasing levels of personal stress from scrutiny of his management of the Fox Lake Police Explorer program.” It’s difficult to believe such a well-regarded officer and fixture of the community could have done such a thing, but the evidence is rather damning.

In September, Gliniewicz — who was popularly known as “GI Joe” — had radioed in that he was in foot pursuit of three subjects. Communications were lost, and backup arrived to discover him dead from a gunshot wound. Gliniewicz’s death set off a massive manhunt costing more than $350,000 in overtime and other expenses, according to an analysis by the Daily Herald newspaper. The search resulted in the arrest of three men who were quickly found to be uninvolved, thank goodness, I hasten to add. Even today, but certainly in my day and time, that MIGHT not have been the same result in similar investigations. Yes, RP, I do know it can happen, but it extremely rarely does.

Throughout the investigation, Gliniewicz’s family dismissed the suggestion of suicide. With Filenko’s statement a couple days ago, it appears that the family will be denied at least some of their pension benefits — adding another layer of tragedy and grief to a group of innocents who mourn the loss of a husband and a father.

Cops almost universally agree that their department is better off when a criminally corrupt cop is ejected from the ranks — those who disagree are probably criminally corrupt themselves.

WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT: Fox Lake PD no longer has a brother officer who committed many years of his life to serving the community. He was held up as a hero in Fox Lake and many surrounding towns during a funeral procession that spanned 18 miles. During the procession, the streets were clogged with police supporters holding signs that said “BLUE LIVES MATTER” and “THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE” “and “GI JOE IS MY HERO.”

That goodwill and community support gave us all good reason to be reminded that there are many good people out there who love, support, and respect law enforcement.

News that his death was an elaborate hoax is significant because it raises an issue which is uncomfortable for many in law enforcement — police corruption and the effects it has on public trust at a time when public trust is already incredibly low.

I could go on about the case with more intimate details of the embezzlement, the cover-up, the minute-by-minute accounts of that, now, INFAMOUS day in Fox Lake, the massive search efforts, ad nauseum. But I won't. I can't. Because I AM ANGRY. I denounce this dead cop. You CANNOT be doing good work publicly and, in the background, be performing criminal deeds, and be remembered as a good cop. It is incongruent. It is incompatible. And in police work, it is the lowest form of criminal deceit and criminal deception. I denounce this dead man who defiled his badge, his authority, and, worst of all, the trust of the public and his fellow officers. I denounce this dead criminal.

Something that 99.99% of you have never and will never do, I had the duty to investigate many suicides of my fellow officers, men I knew and had worked with for years. Only a few of their deaths were on-duty, most were off-duty. Thankfully, not one, not even the hint of one, was tainted by the preemptive suspicion of criminal activity. Sadly, these were men who couldn't deal with the stress of the job anymore. Many had serious health issues, no doubt exacerbated by the job. Some had can't-make-ends-meet financial issues...who among us back then didn't have that problem! But, in each case, they saw no way out for them, and the end result was the "call-for-service: possible" that I received over my police radio.

So, here are the other victims in this latest suicide scandal, the other ones that few, if any of you referred to in your comments elsewhere on RP: the thousands of citizens who shed tears and lined the streets and held the signs, and waved the American flag. Then there are the Fox Lake police who were duped FOR YEARS by this criminal among them. And, last but not least, the cops who came by the hundreds and hundreds from all across this nation to grieve the loss of another brave, dead officer. What a lie that was. What a preposterous and egregious lie that was. WHAT A DESPICABLE AFFRONT THE WHOLE SORDID AFFAIR WAS AND IS TO THE GOOD NAME OF GOOD COPS WHO HAVE BRAVELY DIED IN THE LINED OF DUTY!!!

Did I see it coming? Hell, yes, I did. Have I seen it coming long before it went public in similar high-profile cases involving police "murders" or "suicides" over the past four decades? Yeah, I have. It's that sixth sense one develops over time. Some of those cases were blatantly obvious, at least to me, and certainly other LEOs. What kept those cases from going south in the Media were race and/or politics, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I AM G@DDAMN ANGRY ABOUT THIS DEAD A$$HOLE, AND NO ONE CAN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE DEPTH OF IT UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN A REAL COP, IN A REAL POLICE DEPARTMENT, DOING REAL POLICE WORK.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Nov 5 at 2015 11:20 AM

2015-11-05T11:20:04-05:00

Being retired from Law Enforcement, I really don't think that the public perceive the Military or veterans in a negative way at all, especially because of the actions of a few. That's just my opinion.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Nov 5 at 2015 12:03 PM

2015-11-05T12:03:38-05:00

This will definitely give the general public one more reason to hate cops.

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 5 at 2015 12:16 PM

2015-11-05T12:16:43-05:00

This surprised the hell out of me and I never saw that coming.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 5 at 2015 12:41 PM

2015-11-05T12:41:41-05:00

I understand why you are angry, SCPO Private RallyPoint Member. I can't add too much to what you had to say, but I will say that most of us, nearly all of us, are very thankful for Police Officers who put their lives on the line daily to keep our communities safe.

Response by SGT Francis Wright made Nov 5 at 2015 3:00 PM

2015-11-05T15:00:06-05:00

He should have done the Honorable thing; and turned himself in. It is sad what he has done to his family.

Response by SFC Jerry Shaw made Nov 5 at 2015 3:08 PM

2015-11-05T15:08:57-05:00

Of Course I don't know if its true or not but man the timing is awful for us in LE. I have heard so much good about thie Officer and to hear this, i think either its false or something besides LE Depression set in?