Fox Lake Mourns Slain Police Officer

Police from around the state, security guards, Boy Scoutmasters and the people of Fox Lake gathered in a waterfront park Wednesday evening to honor slain police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz.

“He had good times, he had wonderful times,” said the Rev. Lisle Kauffman, a police chaplain. “He was an asset to the community.”

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

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

A force of 400 police officers scoured a two-square-mile area for 14 hours after Gliniewicz was killed. The search continued Wednesday with 100 police, federal agents and marshals probing a larger area of Fox Lake.

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said investigators were gathering video from surveillance cameras operated by both businesses and homeowners.

Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit said he spent a sleepless Tuesday night. By morning, he still couldn’t believe Gliniewicz was dead.

Schmit also told how the 32-year veteran of the Fox Lake force was on the verge of retiring when he was killed.

As the vigil began, a man in the crowd shouted out, “God bless our cops!” a few times.

Earlier in the day, Waukegan Police Officer Daniel Byrd stopped by the Fox Lake Police Department with his sister, Danielle Byrd, to place some roses on a memorial to Gliniewicz. The two men served in the Army together.

“It hit close to home. I just feel numb inside,” Daniel Byrd said. “Some people just smile for the camera. He didn’t just smile for the camera. That was him. That was his personality.

Ryan Nicholson and Jordan Anderson of Creator’s Stained Glass Windows left work Wednesday to make signs honoring Gliniewicz which they placed around town.

“My father and my dad’s friend knew him,” Nicholson said. “Really nice cop. Really nice lieutenant. He stood for Second Amendment rights, citizen’s rights. He would be the model” police officer.

Gliniewicz leaves behind a wife and four sons.

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