Thread: Illinois police officer shot, prompting manhunt

Kristen Kiefer should be charged with aiding and abetting unlawful flight. What she did was very impossible to forgive.

. . . Kiefer, 30, of Vernon Hills, Ill., was charged early Thursday with disorderly conduct and falsifying a police report. She appeared before a Lake County judge late Tuesday and bail set at $100,000 . . .
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. . . Thursday, Filenko said that the officer's gun had been recovered. He did not provide details on the discrepancy of the initial reports and declined to comment on whether investigators believe Gliniewicz’s weapon may have been used in the shooting . . .
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Police turn over video to DHS in cop-killer hunt

Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY5:49 p.m. EDT September 3, 2015

(Photo: Nam Y. Huh, AP)


Law enforcement officials searching for three suspects believed to be involved in the fatal shooting of a police officer in Fox Lake, Ill., say they have turned over private home security video to theDepartment of Homeland Security that they are hopeful may provide a break in the case.



USA TODAY
For Fox Lake Mayor, Officer's Death Is Personal


Cmdr. George Filenko, who oversees the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, said officials received the video on Wednesday evening, but local investigators were not able to view it because they did not have the proper equipment to retrieve the video from the system’s hard drive. As a result, his agency has sought the help of a DHS lab in the Chicagoland area.

Filenko says the resident who turned over the video told authorities the footage shows three people near the scene of where Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was found dead minutes after he radioed dispatchers that he was investigating three suspicious men he spotted in a desolate area of town.

He declined to provide further information about the video, but said it could provide potentially “significant” information.

“Homeland Security has got the advanced equipment,” Filenko said. “This video is on a particular hard drive that they have the technology to retrieve it off of.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed in a statement that the agency's homeland security investigations directorate was assisting the task force, but declined further comment.

The development comes as police are now in the third day of their searching for the suspects in Gliniewicz’s shooting death, who was found dead by colleagues in a marshy, industrial section of the community just minutes after he called for backup on Tuesday morning.

Authorities initially told reporters that equipment, including Gliniewicz’s gun, were stripped from his body after he was shot.

But on Thursday, Filenko said that the officer's gun had been recovered. He did not provide details on the discrepancy of the initial reports and declined to comment on whether investigators believe Gliniewicz’s weapon may have been used in the shooting.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from several local, state and federal agencies established a perimeter of the crime scene soon after the shooting. And agencies have bulked up patrols and canvassed the area over the last two days in hopes of finding the men they believe are involved in the shooting.



USA TODAY
Police charge woman for false report in cop killer manhunt


The task force has only the vaguest description of the suspects. Two are described as white males and one was described as a black male, based on what Gliniewicz told dispatchers shortly before he was gunned down.

Late Wednesday, more than 100 officers were deployed not far from the shooting scene after a woman claimed that she had been approached by two men while she had stopped on the side of a road with car trouble. Police also dispatched 11 police dogs and three aircraft into the area after receiving what they thought could be a significant break in the case.

The woman, Kristin Kiefer, initially told investigators the men told her they wanted her to drive them to Wisconsin and even tried to get in the car. She later acknowledged that she had lied to investigators in a bid to get the attention of people who employ her as a nanny, according to Lake County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Christopher Covelli.

Filenko said officers spent about five hours searching in the area Kiefer claimed to have seen the men.

Kiefer, 30, of Vernon Hills, Ill., was charged early Thursday with disorderly conduct and falsifying a police report. She appeared before a Lake County judge late Tuesday and bail set at $100,000.

“It tied up a number of my resources, including my detectives who were called in and put on standby,” Filenko said. “They could have been out there in the field following up on leads.”

Filenko added that a funeral service for Gliniewicz was expected to take place on Monday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...hunt/71651258/

http://abc7chicago.com/news/lack-of-...tioned/969116/

Lack of information in Fox Lake hunt questioned

More than 48 hours after Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz was found dead in Fox Lake, very little information is being released.
An ABC7 I-Team Investigation
WLS
By Chuck Goudie
Updated 1 hr 57 mins ago
FOX LAKE, Ill. (WLS) --
More than 48 hours after Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz was found dead in Fox Lake, very little information is being given to the public.

For police hunting down cop killers, the first 24 hours are the most crucial. After that first day, the odds of finding wanted criminals drop drastically.

And during that time period the public has been given very little information about the circumstances surrounding Gliniewicz' death, despite authorities saying that three dangerous criminals are on the loose - they say probably still in that community.

Although Gliniewicz died near a remote dirt road, investigators say what happens in a Homeland Security forensics lab may be their best hope for moving the case forward.

This is where authorities will unlock and examine home security video that may show the three suspects prior to Gliniewicz' killing. Very little of what happened to the veteran police lieutenant has been made public.

AMONG THE QUESTIONS:
-Was Lt. Gliniewicz shot with his own gun?
-Since the officer's gun was left behind, are the three suspects considered armed and how is that known?

His last police radio call was vague - and initially didn't request backup.

-What evidence is there that three suspects were involved other than the officer's radio call?
-Why would an experienced officer have begun a foot chase without backup present?

Police are giving similar answers to these and most other questions.

Even though police work isn't known for transparency, experts find the Fox Lake approach beyond the norm.

"They don't have much to go on, there wasn't much evidence at the scene that I am aware of that can be used as forensic evidence in solving he case," said Art Lurigio, police expert, Loyola University. "We have little identifying information on the perpetrators, they're not releasing what kind of ballistic evidence they have, they might not have enough to link it to any person or persons."

Lurigio says that with the autopsy complete, the numbers of shots, kind of weapon and whether Lt. Gliniewicz died from his own gun - those are all known, but police are not saying.

One high-ranking police official with knowledge of the Fox Lake investigation says "nobody has a clue what really occurred in that wooded lot behind an abandoned concrete plant."

BREAKING: 2 arrested for murder of Abilene police officer

9/3/15

http://www.alipac.us/f9/abilene-offi...ies%92-322803/

Leads pour in as police widen manhunt for killers of Fox Lake officer

By Eliott C. McLaughlin, Steve Almasy and Holly Yan, CNN
Updated 9:35 PM ET, Wed September 2, 2015 | Video Source:CNN

(CNN)Authorities pursuing suspects in the fatal shooting of an Illinois police officer have made "some progress," Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko told CNN on Wednesday night.

Filenko said new leads have poured in throughout the day. Some come on social media. Some come on the phone. Sometimes they come when people walk into the Fox Lake police station and tell officers something they've seen.

"We feel like we are making some progress. Unfortunately, we haven't apprehended anyone," Filenko told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz's death on Tuesday has left Fox Lake, a community of about 10,000 people in northern Illinois, with a huge void. The well-loved officer left behind a wife and four sons.
"Joe was my best friend and my world, my hero. The love of my life for the last 26 1/2 years. He was my rock as much as I was his rock," his widow, Melodie Gliniewicz, told more than 1,000 people who gathered for a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening.


A vigil was held Wednesday for Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, who was killed in Fox Lake, Illinois.


More than 100 officers and federal agents are looking for three suspects in the shooting. The only description they have -- from Gliniewicz's radio calls to a dispatcher -- were two of the suspects are white and one is black.

"Based on a couple of theories that we have we believe they may have been familiar with the area where the officer eventually encountered them," Filenko said.

Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran, was on his way in to work Tuesday morning, in the cruiser that he had taken home the day before, when he saw three suspicious people, Filenko told reporters earlier. This would not have been unusual as Gliniewicz was the type of officer who considered himself on-duty as soon as he rolled into town, he said.

The lieutenant made the first call at 7:52 a.m. and called three minutes later to request backup. The backup units arrived at 8:01 and found their fellow officer dead, roughly 50 yards from his vehicle, at about 8:09, Filenko said.

Authorities initially marked off a 2-square-mile area across tricky terrain and brought in helicopters, K-9 units, federal agents, night-vision equipment and body-heat sensors. Police cleared every home in the cordoned-off area, while fielding more than 100 tips, Filenko said.

On Wednesday, they widened the search area. Police are canvassing the area and conducting "saturation patrols" in an effort to continue the search and follow up on leads, Lake County Sheriff's Detective Christopher Covelli told reporters.

"We're going to go hand in hand with the residents of Fox Lake to ensure their safety at this time," he said.

A 17-minute timeline

So far, police have found no witnesses, but they are reviewing surveillance tapes from area buildings.

"Videos are coming from a number of places. Businesses. Factories. Gas stations," Filenko said.




They also have one video from a truck driver who had a camera in his vehicle and was in the area Tuesday.

An autopsy was completed, but authorities aren't releasing the results yet, Filenko said. The Northern Illinois Police Crime Laboratory is expediting its review of evidence to determine whether there was any fingerprint or DNA transfer.

Technicians should have that analysis finished within a "day or so," he said.

A challenging search

The FBI, U.S. Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined in the hunt. More than 400 law enforcement officers raked through the heavy woods near Fox Lake on foot, all-terrain vehicles and horseback.

Hampering the search was the landscape where the manhunt unfolded. It's a mix of abandoned buildings, occupied by squatters, and residential and commercial properties situated among heavily wooded areas and a marsh. Some of the terrain is overgrown and swampy, and railroad tracks run through a portion of the area. Tuesday's intense sun didn't help matters.

Local police officers have volunteered to come in while they're off duty, and other law enforcement officers in the surrounding area have called to offer their assistance, Filenko said.

Officers were conducting a secondary review of the crime scene, "turning over every leaf and blade of grass to see if there's anything out there they may have missed," he said.

Authorities have employed 45 dogs in their search, along with six aircraft, Covelli said. Nearby residents saw SWAT teams searching yards, CNN affiliate WLS said. Officers also went house to house looking for clues.

"I hope they catch them soon," neighbor Brenda Day said, "because I'm a single mom of three, and I'm scared."

School officials were anxious, too. Several Illinois school districts, including Fox Lake, Gavin and Big Hollow, were closed Wednesday, the Grant Community High School website said.

Asked whether he had a deadline for calling off the search, Filenko seemed to bristle at the question and responded, "I'm not going to set a time limit on this. I have a murdered colleague. ... We're not going to stop."

Gliniewicz's passion for police work went far beyond what he was paid to do.

He helped lead the Fox Lake Police Department Explorer Post, which mentors young people interested in careers in law enforcement, WLS said.

Gliniewicz, known as "G.I. Joe," was supposed to retire at the end of this month. The day before he was killed, Gliniewicz, 52, met with the mayor to discuss his retirement plans and to make sure the Explorer program continued without him, according to WLS.

"He loved his community and loved his job, and he will be very sorely missed in this community," Grant Township supervisor Catherine "Kay" Starostovic said.

Who was Joe Gliniewicz?
Gliniewicz was an Army veteran who served in active duty and reserve from 1980 to 2007. He left the military with the rank of first sergeant.

The lieutenant is survived by a wife and four children.

His death marks the 24th time an officer has been shot and killed in the line of duty this year. Just last week, a sheriff's deputy in Houston was gunned down while he was fueling his patrol car.

"It is a very tough time to be a police officer at this moment," CNN law enforcement analyst Cedric Alexander said. "However, these men and women that are out there doing this job, they're not going to stop doing it."

America's fallen officers

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/us/ill...-officer-shot/

$50,000 reward offered for capture, conviction of Fox Lake officer’s killers

POSTED 12:55 PM, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, BY ASSOCIATED PRESS



FOX LAKE, Ill. — A $50,000 reward is being offered for the capture and conviction of those who killed a northern Illinois police officer.

Motorola Solutions Inc. Vice President Ali Kapadia said at a news conference Friday that the telecommunications company was offering the reward money.

Kapadia said many of the company’s employees live in the area of Fox Lake, where police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz. Gliniewicz was slain on Tuesday.

Police have said they are seeking three men, two of whom are white and one who is black.

Authorities also announced a new tip line and website:

1-800-CALL-FBI is the new tip line set up to receive tips about info regarding slain Fox Lake Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

The #FBI is seeking tips, pictures, & video in shooting of Lt. Gliniewicz in Fox Lake, IL: https://www.fbi.gov/foxlake

http://wgntv.com/2015/09/04/50000-re...icers-killers/

Police recover 'significant' new evidence in hunt for killers of a northern Illinois police officer

Published September 05, 2015 FoxNews.com



Investigators revealed Friday they found “significant” new evidence in a wooded, marshy area where a northern Illinois police officer was gunned down during a pursuit of three suspicious men.

The discovery came after investigators used weed trimmers and machetes to clear the spot where Fox Lake Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, 52, was found shot to death Tuesday and then searched the ground on their hands and knees,MyFoxChicago reported.

“We did recover a significant piece of evidence,” George Filenko, Commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, told reporters, according to the station. “I know your next question is going to be what is it? I'm not at liberty to tell you.”

The recovered evidence could be very crucial to the case if and when it gets to the point of prosecution, the station reported, adding that investigators seemed encouraged, if not excited, about what was found.

The station said the search of the crime scene was being conducted in a painstaking manner.

“They've basically gotten it down to almost bare earth. They're on their hands and knees literally today doing grid to grid searches,” Filenko said.

Earlier in the week investigators sent to the crime lab DNA evidence that they hope could lead to the killers.

MyFoxChicago also reported Friday that police obtained videos from homes and businesses that show the three suspects, described only as two white men and one black man, before and after Gliniewicz was murdered.

On Thursday police said a homeowner gave them video of the three men. The new videos could provide more clues, the station said.

The videos were turned over to the FBI which is compiling a timeline of the suspects movements, Filenko said.

The investigators believe the three suspects are probably still in the Fox Lake area, 45 miles north of Chicago.

“We are expecting a high volume of people out on the chain of lakes with it being a holiday weekend and there is no cause for concern for the people coming into town. There's no cause for concern for the residents within the town,” said Detecive Chris Covelli with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

A local company Motorola Solutions has announced a $50,000 reward for help in finding the killers.

Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran who was planning to retire at the end of the month, contacted dispatchers about the three suspicious men run and requested a second unit. Dispatchers soon lost contact with him, and backup officers found him about 50 yards from his squad car with a gunshot wound. He died soon after.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/05...hern-illinois/

Men seen in video cleared in Illinois officer's death

John Bacon, USA TODAY 2:45 p.m. EDT September 8, 2015


(Photo: Gilbert R. Boucher II, AP)


Three men seen on video surveillance near the site where an Illinois police officer was killed last week were not involved in the shooting, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said Tuesday.

Investigators also were trying to find a match for DNA evidence collected from the scene, Filenko said at a news conference in the northern Illinois town of Fox Lake.

Filenko said investigators interviewed the three men and were confident they had nothing to do with the death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, 52, who was found dead about 50 yards from his patrol car Sept. 1. There was no camera in the patrol car, Filenko added.

Federal, state and local law enforcement officials have been following up on almost 200 tips, Filenko said. He said he doesn't think the killers have fled the area.

"A comfort zone for anyone committing a crime, surprisingly, is not to flee to Canada or Mexico," Filenko said. "The tendency is to hide in place."

Gliniewicz, an officer for more than 30 years and nearing retirement, was shot while on patrol in a remote, wooded area of the small Chicago suburb. He had just radioed dispatchers about suspicious men, describing them only as two white men and a black man. He called for backup, saying he was in a foot chase, but was not heard from again.

Officers responding to his call found his body. An intense manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officials failed to produce any arrests or identify the suspects. Authorities viewed surveillance video from several homes and businesses and had said they hoped to develop clues that would lead them to the killers.

Gov. Bruce Rauner and hundreds of police officers from across the nation were among thousands who paid their respects to Gliniewicz at a viewing and funeral service Sunday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...eath/71882972/

DNA of “unknown donor” found at scene where Fox Lake Lt. Gliniewicz was shot

POSTED 12:35 PM, SEPTEMBER 8, 2015, BY CNN WIRE SERVICE AND RACHELLE BAILLON, UPDATED AT 05:24PM, SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

FOX LAKE, Illinois -- Officers have identified and interviewed three people caught on video near the scene of Fox Lake, Illinois, police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz's slaying and determined they were not involved in the crime, an investigator said Tuesday, September 8th during a press conference.


Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko said the men were captured on video taken by a home security system and a truck driver who had a camera in his vehicle the day Gliniewicz was killed.

"We have confirmed at this point they were not involved in this," he said. "Those individuals have established their whereabouts in that time frame."

He did not identify the men.

Filenko also said DNA evidence was recovered at the crime scene that did not belong to Gliniewicz.

"The DNA we recovered is not Lt. Gliniewicz's DNA, so that raises a red flag. The process then goes to the Crime Lab and they go through their laboratory procedures to try and narrow the scope of that DNA down," Filenko said.

Investigators are comparing the DNA to a national database, he said. About 50 interviewed suspects have been swabbed for DNA, he said.
Thousands of mourners, including hundreds of police officers, attended the officer's funeral in Antioch, Illinois, on Monday.

Funeral for Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

Gliniewicz was killed on the morning of September 1 in Fox Lake, a community of about 10,000 people in northern Illinois.

Gliniewicz radioed to dispatchers that he was following three men -- two white and one black -- into a heavily wooded area. He was later found shot dead there.

The lieutenant made the first call at 7:52 a.m. and called three minutes later to request backup. The backup units arrived at 8:01 and found their fellow officer dead, roughly 50 yards from his vehicle, at 8:09, Filenko said.

Authorities searched across tricky terrain and brought in helicopters, dogs, federal agents, night-vision equipment and body-heat sensors.

Police cleared every home in the cordoned-off area and fielded more than 100 tips, Filenko said.

So far, police have found no witnesses.

We're told authorities are communicating with their Wisconsin counterparts as they investigate.

"We've had offenders in other homicide investigations flee over state lines -- specifically north, because it's in such close proximity. Are we looking at other people of interest? Absolutely," Filenko said.

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz's funeral in Antioch, Illinois

Few details released
Authorities have disclosed few details about the shooting. The rough description of the three men is about all they have told the public about Gliniewicz's death.

"We're not prepared to give out any specific descriptions yet," Filenko told reporters last week.

Filenko confirmed at a news conference last week that the officer's .40-caliber pistol was found at the scene.

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

A source involved in the investigation told CNN on Thursday that Gliniewicz's gun was fired, though it's not clear who pulled the trigger.

The commander told reporters that investigators were using machetes and magnets to search the high grass at the scene of the slaying.

An autopsy was completed, but authorities aren't releasing the results yet, Filenko said. The Northern Illinois Police Crime Laboratory is expediting its review of evidence to determine whether there was any fingerprint or DNA transfer.

Local police officers have volunteered to come in while they're off duty, and other law enforcement officers in the surrounding area have called to offer their assistance, Filenko said.

A local hero
Gliniewicz was a hero to many in Fox Lake. Hundreds of people gathered on September 2 for a vigil to honor the 30-year police veteran. He led the local police explorers' program, mentoring and training youths interested in becoming officers.

Lt. Joe Gliniewicz's wife, Mel makes remarks at his vigil

He was a husband and father of four.

"Joe was my best friend and my world. My hero," Melodie Gliniewicz told more than 1,000 people at the candlelight vigil.

She said her husband was "the love of my life for the last 26½ years.

He was my rock as much as I was his rock."

http://fox6now.com/2015/09/08/fox-la...ough-evidence/

9/9/15

http://www.alipac.us/f9/coroner-fox-...-wound-323076/