Cops Bash Coroner for Speaking About Slain Fox Lake Police Lieutenant

High-ranking cops accused the Lake County coroner of undermining the investigation of a Fox Lake police lieutenant’s death by talking about the case.

“The coroner should not release sensitive case information while an investigation is still under way, it’s completely irresponsible,” Lake County Undersheriff Raymond Rose said of Dr. Thomas A. Rudd.

Rose and George Filenko, the commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, attacked Rudd in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Rudd told Patch that a “single devastating gunshot wound” took the life of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz. Rudd also said he has not yet been provided with enough information to rule on the cause or manner of Gliniewicz’s death.

“Right now we can’t say if it’s an accident, homicide or suicide,” he said. Rudd did note that, for now, “We are leaning in favor of homicide.”

On Thursday, Rudd said the fatal shot struck Gliniewicz in his torso, contradicting an ABC “I-Team” report that one round went into the back of the lieutenant’s neck and another hit his bulletproof vest.

“That’s not true,” Rudd said.

Filenko claimed the coroner may have undone all his investigators have accomplished since the lieutenant was found shot to death nine days ago.

“All of the progress made since this tragic incident is potentially in jeopardy,” said Filenko.

That progress includes the vague descriptions of three males suspected of possibly killing Gliniewicz. The police say they only know that two of them are white and one is black.

Rose also said “Doctor Rudd’s actions are completely outside of policy, procedure, protocols, and are completely unprofessional.”

Gliniewicz, 52, was killed shortly after he started his shift the morning of Sept 1. He radioed in that he had spotted two white men and a black man in a remote area of the sleepy northern Illinois town and determined they were “suspicious.” He then reported that he was going to confront them, police said.

Gliniewicz called for backup and said the men were running into a swamp. Two officers arrived to assist Gliniewicz. They found him shot dead on the ground.

Gliniewicz’s .40-caliber pistol was recovered from the death scene. Filenko will not say whether the weapon was used to kill Gliniewicz. Filenko has also declined to reveal if postmortem testing showed Gliniewicz fired a gun.

On Tuesday, Filenko said DNA from an “unknown donor” was found at the crime scene. That DNA is being analyzed at the Northern Illinois Crime Lab. Filenko would not provide anymore details on where exactly the DNA was located or what type of DNA evidence authorities had found.

On Thursday, police confirmed “more than one shot was fired at the scene.”

“At this time we are not able to comment on the exact number of shots fired,” the statement said, “as it is confidential information critical to the investigation.”