The south suburb of Midlothian
has placed a high-level police officer on paid leave after a Tribune report
that detailed a federal investigation into the Police Department.
Mayor Sharon Rybak said the
village placed Sgt. Steven Zamiar on paid administrative leave Thursday
afternoon but declined to say why, calling it a "personnel issue."
Zamiar is a 13-year veteran who served as the suburb's deputy chief until a
recent political shake-up.
Village officials have been
aware of a federal probe linked to Zamiar since at least February, when a grand
jury issued a subpoena to the suburb seeking a slew of records pertaining to
him, including his personnel file and any allegations of misconduct against
him.
But Zamiar was allowed to
continue working in the department until after the Tribune's report was
published Tuesday.
A woman who answered Zamiar's
phone Thursday said he wasn't available and hung up.
It remains unclear exactly what
about Zamiar or the town's small Police Department has drawn the attention of
federal investigators.
The village received a second
grand jury subpoena in late June seeking police logs and call records tied to
three days in 2011, along with the department's policy manuals regarding "use
of force by police officers."
On one of those days, Zamiar
filed an incident report saying he used a baton to subdue a suspect after an
early morning chase outside a bar — at a time department records show he was
not clocked in. Charges against the suspect alleging assault and resisting an
officer were later dropped, according to court records.
In his police report, Zamiar
said the suspect turned toward him "in an aggressive manner" after a
short chase.
"At this time I utilized
my ASP Baton and the subject was taken into custody without further
resistance," Zamiar wrote.
