Orland Settles Lawsuit With Unjustly Fired Cop For $550K, Sergeant Reinstated

ORLAND PARK, IL — An Orland Park police officer who sued his higher-ups and the Village alleging wrongful termination has been fully reinstated as of Dec. 2, a specification detailed in a $550,000 settlement agreement approved Dec. 1.

Orland Park Sgt. William Sanchez said in his suit filed in March 2025 that he was fired in February 2024 in retaliation after he filed a complaint of racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation against then-Deputy Chief Brian West and Chief Eric Rossi. His suit also named former village manager George Koczwara and the Village of Orland Park.

With the settlement agreement approved during the Dec. 1 Village Board meeting, neither party admitted fault, and Sanchez agreed to drop any legal suits related to his claims. It also required Sanchez to be reinstated with back pay, and with no documentation of any gap in his service, the agreement states.

The Village, its insurance carrier and the investigative firm's insurance carrier have agreed to pay Sanchez $225,000 as the compensatory portion of the settlement, and $299,000 in back pay, for a total of $524,000.

Under the settlement, each party is responsible for their own legal fees and costs; in the Village’s case, legal fees exceed $460,000. The Village and all named defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing, and the settlement was made as a cost-of-defense decision by the Village and the Village’s insurance carrier, not as an admission of liability or fault, the agreement specifies.

The settlement was the culmination of a lengthy battle between Sanchez, police leadership and the former Village administration led by ousted mayor Keith Pekau.

Mayor Jim Dodge said the move to settle was the most economically sound one for the Village.

"When we came into office, our objective was to thoughtfully and fairly end all this litigation, so we could stop paying the lawyers," Dodge told Patch Tuesday.

"When we looked at the totality of the case, it made the most sense to move toward settling it."

In 2023, Sanchez named both West and Rossi in a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Illinois Department of Human Rights. Sanchez, a Mexican American who identifies as Hispanic, claimed that in not promoting him in rank as efficiently as his Caucasian colleagues, Rossi and West discriminated against him. A months-long private investigation proved otherwise, officials said, and Rossi and West were both cleared of any wrongdoing. Sanchez's complaint had been made "in bad faith," the Village said. West, however, had filed a complaint of his own, claiming that Sanchez had created a hostile work environment. That claim, the Village said, held up, and led to Sanchez's termination.

The Village told him the firing was due to misconduct, specifically filing the complaints against West and Rossi. Filing complaints, however, is an "indisputably protected activity," the new suit stated.

After his firing, Sanchez filed a grievance with the Orland Park Supervisors Association, and the parties took the matter to arbitration. An arbitrator in January found that the firing was unjust. The Village was ordered to reinstate Sanchez, and he was awarded full back pay, as well as pay for lost benefits and contributions to the retirement plan. The Village then disputed that ruling, and filed a motion in Cook County circuit court.

Following the arbitration ruling, Sanchez subsequently pursued his lawsuit, which details other aspects leading up to his belief that he had been discriminated against. Read more about his lawsuit here.

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With the department for 20 years, Sanchez was rated well in performance, with no history of disciplinary action or misconduct. That was noted in the arbitration hearing, and factored into the arbitrator's decision.

Sanchez also claimed in the suit that he had been promised a promotion that never came. Serving as supervisor of the traffic safety unit at the rank of sergeant, Sanchez said Rossi told him that he would next be promoted to lieutenant after another officer retired, the suit states. In arbitration proceedings, both West and Rossi said neither had made that promise.

The suit also circled back to the private investigation into Sanchez's original claims, the outcome of which led to his termination. Outsourced to Jimmy Lee, of Gold Shield Detective Agency, the investigation was "a sham, its outcome predetermined" by Village leadership, the suit alleges.

Lee was also named as a defendant in the suit. As a condition of the settlement, the Village must also remove from its public website all hyperlinks or means of accessing the report issued by Lee.

See the full settlement agreement below.

The Village, it said, sought the settlement through its insurance carrier "based on a cost of defense economic decision of the Village, and more importantly, its insurance carrier, and not a decision related to the merits" of Sanchez's claims.

"This settlement effectively closes this matter," Dodge said in a public statement released Tuesday. "The Village of Orland Park remains committed to resolving all outstanding litigation carried over from the prior administration in an efficient and responsible manner. Our ongoing focus is on strengthening public trust, enhancing operational efficiency, and ensuring that the Village of Orland Park continues to advance responsibly, transparently, and in the best interests of our residents."

Sanchez was also required to be reinstated to the role of traffic safety sergeant, treated with the same seniority as if he had never been terminated, the agreement details. His personnel file will also not reflect any separation of service or gaps in service or employment in 2024 or 2025, "nor shall there be any record of misconduct ... related to Plaintiff’s termination or the acts or omissions that purportedly resulted in Plaintiff’s termination."

The Village also agreed to coordinate with Sanchez and the Orland Park Police Pension Fund to take all steps—including the Village’s payment of any contributions and interest on Plaintiff’s behalf—necessary to ensure that Plaintiff obtains the same pension service credit and the same pension benefit rights as if he had never been terminated, the agreement reads.

In October, the Village also voted to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by a retired police sergeant. In that suit, retired Sgt. Ken Kovac sued Orland Park Police's then-Deputy Chief Brian West and Chief Eric Ross, as well as officers Douglas Klein, Kenneth Rosinski and William Fitz.

Kovac claimed those named violated his constitutional rights when they arrested him in connection with a Facebook page he created to air concerns about "abuses of power" within the department. A "fast-tracked" investigation into the page led to Kovac's arrest—though the charges were tossed earlier this year.

That settlement—unanimously approved by the board—awarded Kovac $175,000, according to the agreement. It also states that the department did not have sufficient evidence to link Kovac to a "glitter bomb" sent to West, and a prank call to the suicide prevention hotline on West's behalf.

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At the time of that settlement, Dodge said his administration was "actively working to resolve all open litigation held over from the prior administration as quickly as possible.

".... our focus is on strengthening trust, improving operations, and ensuring the Village of Orland Park continues to move forward responsibly and transparently for our residents.”

Village trustees on Monday voted 5-2 in approval of the settlement, with trustees Cindy Katsenes and Bill Healy dissenting.