After $132K In Paid Leave, Joliet Cop Learns Discipline

JOLIET, IL — After collecting more than $132,000 for being paid to stay home from work while appealing his termination from Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner, Officer David Blackmore is back on the job, patrolling the neighborhoods and streets of Joliet.

On March 9, new city manager Jim Capparelli worked out an agreement with Illinois FOP Labor Council Attorney Tamara Cummings and Blackmore to resolve the 15-month-long labor dispute.

The key details of the settlement are as follows:

• Joliet agreed to rescind Blackmore's termination and give him a 90-day suspension. His personnel file will show he received a 90-day suspension.
• Blackmore agreed to forfeit 160 hours from his vacation banks.
• Blackmore will serve 60 work days of suspension over the next year on days, dates and times agreeable to both sides.
• Blackmore's personnel file will now reflect that "Blackmore was disciplined only for a violation of Joliet Police Department General Order ... 'Conduct Unbecoming.'"

"The parties agree that by entering into this agreement, Blackmore and its representatives are not admitting that any of their prior actions violating Joliet Police Department general orders, policies, rules or procedures," a copy of the settlement showed.

Recent Freedom of Information Act requests by Joliet Patch reveal that Blackmore made at least $132,120 while being on paid leave from the Joliet Police Department for almost 15 months.

On Dec. 27, 2019, Blackmore received a memo from Roechner announcing that he was being fired for discrepancies involving statements he made on an on-duty injury report.

Roechner's termination letter for Blackmore stated the following: "There were discrepancies involving statements that you made on your on-duty injury report, information you provided on your Joliet Police Department Offense report, information you provided to your doctor, and the events that occurred on August 21, 2018."

Roechner informed Blackmore that the Joliet Police Department has a general order governing code of conduct and "Conduct unbecoming of Department members shall not be tolerated."

Blackmore, with the support of the Joliet Police Department Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, appealed his termination to the city's police and fire commission.

Blackmore was allowed to remain on paid leave while his termination was under appeal, based on the terms of the city's FOP labor contract.

At no point in 2020 did Roechner appear before the police and fire commission to present evidence showing why Blackmore's firing was warranted.

Roechner's decision not to present his evidence to the city's police and fire commission resulted in Blackmore remaining on indefinite paid leave from work, a decision that cost the Joliet taxpayers a substantial amount of money.

On Jan. 8, Roechner accepted a $31,000 salary increase in exchange for submitting his immediate retirement notice to outgoing city manager Jim Hock. The following week, the city replaced Roechner with Dawn Malec, and she has been made the permanent chief of police.

Joliet Patch has previously reported that Blackmore has received two Silver Star life-saving awards with the Joliet Police Department for saving peoples' lives, once in 2012 and again in 2018.