By Lauren Zumbach
Chicago Tribune
FOX LAKE, Ill. — Wearing a tank top and barefoot, a 36-year-old man exchanged words with a Fox Lake police officer before being pushed against a concrete wall, grabbed by the throat and eventually flipped upside down onto a concrete bench in the small jail cell.
Video clips Fox Lake officials shared at a news conference Friday then show officers bang Jeffrey Grzonka’s head into a metal door while moving him to another cell. Grzonka had been arrested Dec. 5, 2014 on a Fox Lake bike path on suspicion of public intoxication, according to court records.
“While [the man’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 we expect of a Fox Lake police officer,” village Administrator Anne Marrin said.
It was against the backdrop of the jail investigation and the police chief’s paid leave and subsequent retirement that the Fox Lake police department drew national attention in September when Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz took his own life. Gliniewicz was found fatally shot while on patrol, sparking a massive manhunt and public outpouring of support. Investigators later ruled his death a suicide, saying he took his own life to cover up alleged embezzlement from the Explorers youth policing program he ran.
Investigators already were looking into the jail case at the time Gliniewicz, who had a troubled history at the department, took his life.
Nevertheless, the mistreatment of those in custody and Gliniewicz’s alleged misconduct are “a stark reminder of what can happen when officers are not held accountable,” Marrin said.
While Gliniewicz was not involved in the investigation into the altercation, “I think everything happening in that department culminated at the same time,” Marrin said.
Marrin said Friday the video was released — four months after the launch of an internal investigation into how police handled the incident — because it would no longer harm efforts to investigate and “we believe it’s the right thing to do.”
Amplified by the high-profile Laquan McDonald case in Chicago, there has been a growing push to hold police accountable for their actions, both locally and nationally. Waukegan this week committed to spending $1 million on body cameras for its officers, which Mayor Wayne Motley said was both for the protection of citizens and the officers.
While the McDonald video, which showed the 17-year-old’s fatal shooting, was kept from public view for 13 months, Fox Lake’s jail incident also occurred in late 2014.
It took a year for Fox Lake officials to mete out suspensions, after the launch of an internal probe in August and resignation of the department’s chief.
Regarding the police department’s initial response, Marrin said “we felt there should have been a more thorough investigation.” A detective was given a four-day suspension after the incident, but Marrin revealed Friday that a sergeant who tried to report what happened to a superior was punished with a one-day suspension.
According to a statement from the village, officers arrested Grzonka after responding to a call about a suspicious person on Lilac Avenue. While in custody, Grzonka spit in Officer Russell Zander’s face, according to court records, repeatedly threatened officers and attempted to cover a video camera mounted on the wall with clothing, Marrin said.
Det. Jason Baldowsky, joined by officers Shane Campion, Eric Ewald and a fourth officer, entered the cell to uncover the camera. After Grzonka made threats and disobeyed commands, Baldowsky grabbed Grzonka by the neck and shoved him to the bench, Marrin said. As officers moved Grzonka to another cell with a camera that would be more difficult to cover, they shoved him into a wall and door, striking his head, according to the village’s statement.
Marrin said Grzonka declined medical attention, did not want to file a complaint and was released the next day. According to court records, he was charged with public intoxication and battery. He later pleaded guilty to battery and the alcohol violation was dropped.
The village later agreed to pay him a $4,000 settlement, Marrin said.
Grzonka has a lengthy criminal record including numerous misdemeanor convictions for disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and trespassing, court records show. This year, he pleaded guilty to domestic battery in July and in September was accused of aggravated battery to a police officer for spitting in Fox Lake Officer Russell “Todd” Ebbing’s face and mouth. In that case, he ultimately pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and got 30 months’ probation with 146 days time served. In 1999, Grzonka was charged in McHenry County with aggravated battery of an officer and was later convicted and sentenced to 120 days in jail.
Baldowsky was given the four-day suspension around Christmas in 2014, according to a statement from the village. Sgt. John Hoyne, who reported the incident to a superior, was punished for speaking out with a one-day suspension, Marrin said.
Marrin said she learned about the incident in March, from former police Chief Michael Behan. According to Marrin, Behan said the situation had been dealt with and never provided the additional documentation she sought.
In July, Marrin said, she was told the initial investigation “may not have been as thorough as it could have been.”
The second video, which shows officers shoving Grzonka into a door while taking him to a different cell, was not part of the original investigation, according to a statement from the village.
Behan and Baldowsky were placed on paid administrative leave over the summer and an internal investigation was launched Aug. 13. Behan, 55, who conducted the initial investigation, retired one week after being placed on leave.
Baldowsky, a 17-year police veteran, was given a 16-day suspension; Campion a 30-day suspension, and Ewald a 10-day suspension, village officials said. Both Campion and Ewald are four-year veterans, according to the village.
The fourth officer has denied wrongdoing and is on paid administrative leave while the village continues to investigate his role, Marrin said.
Ewald declined to comment Friday while attempts to reach Baldowsky, Campion, Hoyne and the fourth officer were unsuccessful.
Fox Lake officials said they have alerted the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office and the FBI regarding the status of the investigation but Marrin declined to say whether she thought criminal charges were warranted.
Village officials had remained silent on the status of the internal investigation since the death of Gliniewicz on Sept. 1.
Though Gliniewicz was not involved in the investigation into the altercation, in the weeks after his death the village released a statement saying Gliniewicz had taken part in a review of Police Department procedures and equipment begun after Behan’s Aug. 28 retirement, calling it a “best practice” after a change in leadership.
On the morning of Aug. 31 — the Monday after Behan retired and one day before Gliniewicz’s suicide — the officer known in the community as “G.I. Joe” sent Behan a message that appears to show concern about the review.
“She has now demanded a complete inventory of explorer central and a financial report … FML,” Gliniewicz wrote, according to a copy of messages recovered from his phone released by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
In another message released by investigators, Gliniewicz appears to consider harming Marrin. In a text exchange with an unnamed person, he wrote, “Trust me ive thougit through MANY SCENARIOS from planting things to the volo bog!!!” Volo Bog State Natural Area is an extensive marshy area near Fox Lake.
Fox Lake is not reviewing additional incidents involving police but is revamping all police policies and procedures and “professionalizing” the department, Marrin said.
“I can say the Fox Lake Police Department is a different department than on Dec. 5, 2014 and will be a different department from here on out,” she said.
Copyright 2015 the Chicago Tribune