Illinois cop, supposed victim of the “war on police,” exposed as thief and would-be killer - World Socialist Web Site

10.11.15

Illinois cop, supposed victim of the “war on police,” exposed as thief and would-be killer - World Socialist Web Site: That Gliniewicz, nicknamed “GI Joe,” and hailed after his death as a fallen hero in the “war against the police” by a coterie of right-wing law and order fanatics, turned out to be a serial liar, thief, sex abuser and would-be murderer is only one element of the story and a subordinate element at that.

More generally, the incident reveals many aspects of what is truly reprehensible about official life in the US at present.

In public the American establishment is pious, law-abiding and patriotic. Butter would not melt in its collective mouth. Scratch the surface, however, and one finds greed and corruption, lying brought to almost supernatural heights and ruthless criminality.

On the morning of September 1, Gliniewicz informed a police dispatcher in Fox Lake, some 60 miles northwest of Chicago, that he was in pursuit of three males, two white and one black, acting suspiciously. Some 20 minutes later, a fellow cop found his body and reported, “We’ve got an officer down, an officer down.”