Thread: Illinois police officer shot, prompting manhunt

OCT 1 2015, 11:41 AM ET

Authorities: 'Struggle Took Place' Before Fox Lake, Illinois Officer Was Shot to Death

by ELIZABETH CHUCK

A struggle ensued before a veteran Illinois police officer was found shot dead a month ago, authorities said Thursday.

Fox Lake officer Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was shot twice with his own gun, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko confirmed Thursday — once on the right side of his vest, and once in the upper left chest region.

The first shot hit the officer with the force of a "sledgehammer hitting you in the side," Filenko said. The second shot is believed to be the one that killed him.

There have been few leads in the mysterious death of Gliniewicz, who radioed dispatch on Sept. 1 that he was pursuing three suspicious men in a marshy area near an old cement plant before he was found dead.

Filenko told reporters that no theories have been eliminated in Gliniewicz's death. Nine samples of DNA were recovered at the scene, he added, and one has been confirmed to be a male. Swabs are being analyzed at crime labs to try to identify the others, although it's not clear whether the nine samples were from the day Gliniewicz was shot or from some time before.

Filenko gave few other details, but said according to the investigation's findings, "there were indications that there was a struggle that took place at the crime scene."

Investigators continue to treat the case as a homicide, and Gliniewicz's death sparked a manhunt for the three suspects about whom Gliniewicz radioed. But questions have been raised about whether the officer could have committed suicide.

Gliniewicz's son, Donald "D.J." Gliniewicz, has played down rumors that his father took his own life.

FROM SEPT. 2: Authorities Appeal to Public as Cop Killer Manhunt Expands 2:14

The lieutenant "never once had a single suicidal thought," D.J. Gliniewicz told local media on Sept. 16.

Last week, task force spokesman Chris Covelli said that gunshot residue and ballistics tests "do not support or exclude any theory" about his final moments.

RELATED: Investigators Blast Coroner's Comments in Probe of Illinois Cop's Killing

When asked Thursday whether investigators were considering suicide as a possibility, Filenko replied, "Nothing is off the table."
But the case, he said, "is still an ongoing homicide investigation."

Lake County Sheriff spokesman Detective Christopher Covelli called it "an extraordinarily complex investigation with many different components."

"We're working very hard to keep the community informed," he said. "We understand the frustration."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...y-shot-n436131

Illinois cop was killed with own gun amid 'indications' of a struggle, investigators say

Published October 01, 2015 FoxNews.com




FOX LAKE, Ill. – One month after an Illinois police lieutenant died under mysterious circumstances, the task force detectives assigned to the case said Thursday “the investigation continues to be a homicide investigation.”

Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz -- known as “G.I. Joe” -- was shot twice with his own weapon and “there were indications that there was a struggle that took place at the crime scene,” according to George Filenko, the commander of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force who revealed new details about the inquiry during Thursday's news conference.

Gliniewicz, 52, who was a police officer for more than 30 years, was shot twice, once on his right side, in the front of his bulletproof vest, and again in the upper left chest area. The first shot was “severe enough to incapacitate” Gliniewicz and was “similar to that of a sledgehammer hitting him in the side,” according to Filenko. The second shot was the devastating shot that killed him.

Nine unknown samples of DNA were recovered from the crime scene, three of which were acceptable by the DNA-matching system and one of which was confirmed to be from a male. Authorities have taken 100 swabs from various donors -- anyone who had direct or indirect contact with Gliniewicz -- in an effort to match the samples.

No match has been found yet.

The results of gun residue testing also proved inconclusive.
“In layman’s terms, the weapon could have been fired by Lt. Gliniewicz or he could have been in close proximity of the weapon being fired,” Filenko said.

Gliniewicz was found dead in a marshy area of Fox Lake around 8 a.m. on Sept. 1 by officers responding to his request for backup.

Gliniewicz had been in the area, on foot, for 20 minutes before he radioed in to a dispatcher that he was in pursuit of two white males and one black male. After cops discovered Gliniewicz’s body, a massive, but ultimately fruitless, manhunt was launched to track down the three individuals Gliniewicz said he was chasing just before his death.

A lack of details emanating from the investigation has given rise to the theory that Gliniewicz may have taken his own life, and Detective Christopher Covelli did say on Thursday that “no theories to this point have been eliminated or taken off the table.”

But Thursday’s admission that there were unspecified “indications” of a struggle was the first time Lake County authorities have been able to convincingly push back on the suicide theory since it was raised.

Gliniewicz planned to retire last month, Chicago TV station WMAQ reported, but he was asked to stay on the job one more month by the police chief.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/01...-officer-died/

Investigation into Fox Lake officer's death has cost $300,000, analysis finds


Photo gallery: Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran of the Fox Lake Police Department, was shot and killed Sept. 1, 2015.

Tribune wire reports Contact Reporter


More than $300,000 has been spent on the investigation into the unsolved shooting death of a Fox Lake police lieutenant, according to a review of personnel records from 50 suburban Chicago police agencies.
Almost two-thirds of
that number, about $196,000, was related to overtime, according to an analysis by the Daily Herald. The review also found that departments with employees assigned to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force had some of the highest costs.

The killing of Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz on Sept. 1 prompted a manhunt for three suspects. Authorities later confirmed Gliniewicz had been shot twice with his own weapon. Investigators have revealed little else.

Despite a wide search and a month of detective work, police haven't made any arrests, identified any suspects or come up with a possible motive. Questions have swirled around the investigation — particularly since the county coroner said he has been unable to rule the 52-year-old Gliniewicz's death a homicide, suicide or an accident.

The review found that 283 people from 50 suburban Chicago police departments and sheriff's offices were involved in the first three weeks after the shooting, either assisting in the investigation or covering shifts for others. That amounts to more than 5,700 hours of work.

"It's something worth spending the taxpayers' money on," Mundelein Village Manager John Lobaito said. That suburb spent about $23,000.

The Lake County sheriff's office sent 93 employees to help with the investigation at a cost of nearly $46,000 in overtime.


Fox Lake officer was shot twice with his own weapon: investigator

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Chris Covelli said that once a major crimes task force investigation starts, it's understood that individual departments will pick up the cost of the employees they send to work on it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburb...007-story.html

11/3/15

Fox Lake officer's death to be ruled suicide: law enforcement sources