Task Force Hunting Cop's Killers Obtains More Video

The task force probing the mysterious murder of a small-town cop has obtained even more video that may reveal the identity of the killers.

“Now we’ve acquired more videos we believe are even more relevant than” one obtained Wednesday night from a Fox Lake resident’s home security camera, said George Filenko, the commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

The new videos come from from several different sources, Filenko said, including various businesses and private residences.

The video was turned over to the FBI so agents can compile it and organize it chronologically, Filenko said during a Friday afternoon press conference. The Department of Homeland Security is analyzing the video turned over Wednesday night.

Even more video was acquired from intersection cameras operated by the Fox Lake Department of Transportation. While the town’s DOT recycles its intersection video every few hours, it held onto footage from intersections surrounding the death scene of Fox Lake police Lt Charles Joseph Gliniewicz.

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 sleepy northern Illinois town, determined they were “suspicious” and reported that he was going to confront them, police said.

Gliniewicz then 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 would not say whether the weapon was used to kill Gliniewicz. He also declined to reveal if postmortem testing showed Gliniewicz fired a gun.

Samples from the recovered weapon will be used in DNA comparison, said Filenko, and as many as 50 “subjects” have surrendered biological samples after they were interviewed by investigators.

On the brink of the Labor Day weekend, Filenko assured the public that measures have been taken to keep the public safe.

“We feel confident that the safety of the community is not in jeopardy,” he said.

“Yes, we know this is a holiday weekend, and yes, we know this is a partial resort community,” Filenko said, noting that the police are prepared in the event someone discovers evidence of a squatter in a vacation home or boat.

But Filenko also warned that Gliniewicz’s killers are extremely dangerous.

“I’ll reiterate this,” he said, “they murdered a police officer, so they are capable of anything.”

Lake County Detective Chris Covelli announced that Motorola Solutions has put up a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of Gliniewicz’s killers. Anyone else interested in pledging reward money can contact Lake County Undersheriff Raymond Rose at 847-377-4367.

The FBI has set up an around-the-clock tip line — 800-CALL-FBI — dedicated to the Gliniewicz case, and has also set up a website, fbi.gov/foxlake.

The only description of the fugitives released so far by police is they are male and that two are white and one is black.

On the fourth day of an intense investigation and manhunt, Filenko said his task force has not wilted from fatigue or pressure.

“What energizes me is, we have a murdered colleague,” he said. “Three hours of sleep a night is enough for me.”