Joliet cop’s arrest remains unclear

The circumstances surrounding a Joliet police officer’s arrest last week remain unclear.

Chicago police officials told The Herald-News on April 29 that they did not have anyone by the name of Busse in their arrest queue for the last seven days.

“We actually do not have anyone by that name in custody,” Chicago Police Officer Jessica Rocco told The Herald-News.

When asked about this, Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English said it was his understanding that Chicago police was the agency that notified them about the arrest.

He said he was “unable to comment further on this case as it is not our arrest” and directed further questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, has not provided any information on Busse’s arrest and whether charges have been filed against him.

“I do not have any information,” Fitzpatrick said in an email on Monday.

That’s been Fitzpatrick’s only response to questions on Busse since then. He failed to respond to multiple calls and messages since then.

Federal court records do not show any charges filed against Busse as of Wednesday afternoon.

Busse was released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Thursday, according to the BOP’s website. BOP officials failed to answer numerous questions about Busse on Wednesday and would only say in an email that the BOP “does not release booking photos.”

On April 28, English told The Herald-News that his department was informed by Chicago police that Busse was in their custody. He said at the time Chicago police did not disclose to them why he was in their custody.

Busse has not responded to calls about the arrest. His phone’s mailbox said it was full and could not accept any messages.

Busse’s attorney Jeff Tomczak failed to return calls about his client. Tomczak’s law firm is representing Busse in two domestic battery cases that remain pending in Will County.

One of the cases is scheduled for a jury trial on July 12 while another has a status hearing on the same date, court records show.

Busse, who was recommended for termination in February 2020, was arrested twice in 2019 and charged with physically abusing his ex-wife. He was arrested by New Lenox police May 31 of that year and again on Dec. 29, 2019.

Busse’s ex-wife could not be reached by phone on Wednesday.

Busse was suspended for a day without pay on May 13, 2019, for violating the Joliet police code of conduct following an internal affairs investigation into whether he struck his girlfriend, records show.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office investigated Busse in March 2019 when the parents of his girlfriend filed a complaint saying they suspected their daughter might have been physically abused, reports show.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to issue a criminal complaint after the investigation.

State’s attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said a complaint was not issued due to “insufficient evidence” in the case. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said there were conflicting statements regarding what was being alleged.