Joliet cop suspended in May for violating conduct policy

A Joliet police officer was suspended for one day without pay for violating the department’s code of conduct after internal affairs investigated allegations that he struck his girlfriend.

Officer William Busse was issued a notice of a suspension from Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner on May 13 after an internal affairs investigation determined he violated the department’s code of conduct, according to records obtained by The Herald-News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Internal affairs investigated a complaint that alleged on March 3 Busse struck his girlfriend with his fist and grabbed her arms.

Internal affairs determined the complaint was found to be “sustained in part and not sustained in part,” according to the suspension notice.

It’s not clear which part of the complaint was sustained and which was not sustained. Calls to Roechner were not returned Thursday.

Busse was arrested on a domestic battery charge May 31. He was charged with physically abusing his ex-wife in New Lenox. The two divorced last year.

Busse was investigated by the Will County Sheriff’s Office in March when the parents of his girlfriend filed a complaint saying they suspected their daughter might have been physically abused, according to sheriff’s office reports.

The state’s attorney’s office declined to issue a criminal complaint after the investigation by the sheriff’s office.

Will County State’s Attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said a complaint was not issued because of “insufficient evidence.”

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said there were conflicting statements regarding what was being alleged.

In response to a FOIA request, the state’s attorney’s office provided reports that indicated Busse’s girlfriend refused to cooperate with detectives investigating the allegations.

The detectives also interviewed a witness who alleged that Busse intervened in a physical altercation between two women on the night his girlfriend was staying with him in Homer Glen, according to the police report.