Complaint: Joliet cop shot ceiling of home during domestic battery of cop girlfriend

JOLIET – A Joliet police officer fired a gun into the ceiling of his town home, hit his girlfriend in the head and damaged her TV set, according to a criminal complaint filed in Will County court Monday.

Nicholas M. Crowley, 36, has been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, domestic battery and criminal damage to property.

In bond court Monday, Crowley – in handcuffs – was wearing a T-shirt, jeans and sandals as Will County Judge Art Smigielski and his attorneys went over his charges.

He entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and was booked into the Will County Jail at 1:43 p.m., shortly after his appearance in bond court, according to the county jail log. He was released at 4:13 p.m.

Calls to Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton were not returned Monday.

Attorney Jeff Tomczak, whose law firm was retained by Crowley, said he turned himself in to the police about 2 p.m. Sunday and surrendered his assigned weapon.

On Sunday, Crowley allegedly endangered his girlfriend, also a cop, by firing his gun into the ceiling of her town home on Mustang Road, according to the criminal complaint. He and his girlfriend share the same address, according to property and court records.

Messages left at the listed number for Crowley and his girlfriend’s home were not returned Monday.

Tomczak said Crowley and the victim were in a romantic relationship.

Crowley’s bond was set at $50,000, of which 10 percent was needed to post bail. As a condition his bond, he is required to surrender his firearm owner’s identification card within 48 hours, surrender all firearms to Joliet police and have no contact with his girlfriend.

A preliminary hearing for Crowley was scheduled for Aug. 11.

Crowley earned about $95,916 last year, according to the city’s payroll report. He was paid $7,028 in overtime, $979 in holiday pay and $2,100 in stipends. His regular pay is $85,808 a year.

Last month, The Herald-News obtained a Snapchat photo of a police officer casually displaying his pistol while seated in a car with another man. Crowley’s name was provided along with the photo. At the time, Joliet Police Deputy Chief Ed Gregory said the department’s internal affairs division would have to investigate but that he was “95 percent sure” the officer in the photo was Crowley.

After being contacted Thursday about the internal affairs investigation, Gregory said any information on the case would have to be requested through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act or the city’s legal department.

Gregory declined to answer when asked about the results of the investigation or if the officer in the photo was indeed Crowley.

On Monday, city officials denied a Freedom of Information Act request sent July 13 about the internal affairs investigation, saying complaints made to the police are exempt from disclosure.

A request sent June 30 for disciplinary records concerning Crowley that was partially denied showed he’s faced disciplinary action in the past.

On June 21, 2016, Benton gave Crowley a notice of a two-day suspension without pay and three workdays held in abeyance following an investigation into his failure to appear in court, which violated police department conduct.

On Oct. 14, 2014, Benton gave Crowley a written reprimand after a review of a crash he was involved in on May 4, 2014, found he failed to “exercise due care in the operation of a City of Joliet vehicle.”