Gliniewicz’s death sparked a massive manhunt for the three suspects who would’ve been deemed responsible for the shooting. The three men were seen on a home security video system. This came after the late officer radioed in that he had been chasing after them on foot. One of the suspects in question was a Black male. After being held for investigation, all three of them were cleared.

What was initially assumed to be a homicide was later revealed that Joseph Gliniewicz staged his entire death out of fear that he would be severely punished for his embezzlement of thousands of dollars from a program called the Explorers, a group that mentors young people who aspire to be cops.

NBC News has reported the following information regarding the suicide on their website:

Gliniewicz, 52, was embezzling money through the program, funneling tens of thousands of dollars for personal purposes — including mortgage payments, travel expenses, gym memberships, adult websites and loans to associates, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko told reporters.

This incident has occurred at a time when the character of many cops have been proven to be highly questionable across the nation.

B. Clark