Joe Gliniewicz

He attended Marmion Military Academy and graduated from Antioch Community High School in Antioch, Illinois in 1981 before enlisting in the United States Army.

He was trained as a military police officer, drill sergeant, sniper, and in airborne assault.

He previously obtained a master's degree from Kaplan University and remained in the United States Army Reserve from 1981 until 2007, separating with the rank of first sergeant.

He gained the nickname "G.I. Joe" due to his military background and perceived physical resemblance to the action figure character of the same name.

At the time of his death he resided in Antioch with his wife of 26 years, Melodie, and their four sons.

In 1985, he joined the Fox Lake Police Department (FLPD), the primary law enforcement agency for Fox Lake, Illinois, a village of about 10,000 nestled into the Chain O'Lakes that sits approximately 60 miles north of Chicago.

He was assigned as a patrol officer and received further training and certifications in special assignments including SWAT, police dog handling, and became a certified evidence technician.

In 1996, he was promoted to sergeant and then lieutenant in 2006.

Gliniewicz was in command of the Fox Lake Police Explorer program Post 300, an organization mentoring adolescents interested in law enforcement careers.

At the time of his death he was scheduled to retire in approximately one month after a nearly thirty year career.

On September 1, 2015, American police lieutenant Charles Joseph "Joe" Gliniewicz was found dead in a wooded area in Fox Lake, Illinois.

The incident gained national coverage as it was initially believed that Gliniewicz was murdered by three unknown assailants.

However, after two months of investigation, officials of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force concluded that Gliniewicz had actually committed suicide that he staged to look like murder, after realizing that his many years of criminal activity would soon be exposed.

Joe Gliniewicz was born in Libertyville, Illinois.

At 7:52 a.m. on September 1, 2015, Gliniewicz radioed to dispatch that he was pursuing three men, described as two white and one black, at an abandoned cement plant in Fox Lake.

At 8:09 a.m., FLPD officers responding to his request for backup discovered his deceased body in a wooded marsh about 50 yards from his vehicle.

According to reports, the first bullet from his .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun had struck his mobile phone and ballistic vest while the second pierced his upper chest.

His head was scraped and bruised.

The swampy terrain was otherwise undisturbed, and his handgun was not found for more than an hour, despite it being less than one yard from his body.

Other pieces of his police equipment, including his radio, taser, and pepper spray, were found scattered nearby in the marsh as well.

A massive manhunt was launched for these three male suspects, involving some 400 law enforcement officers on foot, via vehicles, helicopters, drones, and on horseback.

Local law enforcement were also assisted by federal agencies including the ATF and FBI.

On the evening of September 2, a 30-year-old woman named Kristin Kiefer of Vernon Hills, Illinois contacted police to report that while she was pulled over on the side of the road in Volo, Illinois, two men, one white and one black, approached her from a cornfield and tried to steal her car prompting her to flee from them on foot.

Nearly 100 state and local law enforcement authorities set up roadblocks and searched the area along with 11 police K-9 and three air units from around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday until around 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

The search took officers through the dense Volo Bog State Natural Area after canines mistakenly tracked a deer.

Kiefer later admitted to fabricating the entire story and she was arrested and charged with two counts of disorderly conduct for falsifying a police report.

The investigation concluded in November 2015 that Gliniewicz had been embezzling money for at least seven years from the police explorer program, that he believed that his crimes were about to be exposed, and that his death had been a "carefully staged suicide."

He had also tried to induce a high-ranking gang member to kill village administrator Anne Marrin, who was conducting a financial audit of the program.

In May 2017, she was convicted, placed on probation, and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution.

A large crowd gathered at a vigil on September 2 at the Lakefront Park in Fox Lake.

His wife and sons spoke to the crowd.

On September 3, the Chicago Bears displayed a tribute to Gliniewicz during a preseason game.

Thousands of people, including hundreds of law enforcement officers and officials from around the country, attended the funeral in Antioch on September 7.

His funeral procession from Antioch High School to Fox Lake and back, was 18 miles in length.

Thousands of people took to the streets to view the procession and show their support, many of them waving Thin Blue Line and U.S. flags.

Then-Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who attended the funeral, ordered flags to half-staff.

Many early reactions blamed Gliniewicz's death on a "war on cops" and the Black Lives Matter movement, which had become prevalent the previous year during the Ferguson unrest.

In the weeks following the incident, Joseph Battaglia, a former Chicago police officer, began calling police agencies and media outlets insisting that Gliniewicz had shot himself intentionally.

On September 13, Battaglia was charged with disorderly conduct after threatening officials for not declaring Gliniewicz' death a suicide.

Battaglia was later sentenced to one year of supervision after pleading guilty.