Rejected: Olson Denied Joliet Police Sergeant's Promotion

JOLIET, IL — More than a dozen members of the Joliet Police Department attended Tuesday afternoon's meeting at City Hall, hoping their presence would send a message to the city's fire and police board to approve the promotion of Officer Rich Olson to sergeant.

In the end, the large show of force by several Joliet officers who have worked with Olson for more than 20 years did not help Olson's cause.

Even Joliet's City Manager Jim Capparelli came to the meeting, asking the board to promote Olson to sergeant. Capparelli's suggestion carried no weight with the police and fire board, either.

The board voted 3-1 to reject Olson's promotion to sergeant.

Voting against Olson was board president Todd Wooten along with Brad Price and Craig Purchase. Newly appointed board member Rosa Hernandez voted in favor of Olson's promotion.

The fifth board member, Quinn Adamowski, was not in attendance at the meeting.

Afterward, Wooten told Patch that the board made the proper decision by rejecting Olson's bid for a sergeant. The supervisory promotion would have assured Olson of a huge salary hike as well as a major boost in his Joliet police pension for the rest of his life.

"If an officer displays poor performance or misconduct, and they come before the police and fire board, they'll receive a fair hearing (and) they will be held accountable for their actions," Wooten said.

On Tuesday night, Wooten answered "Yes," when asked by Joliet Patch whether Olson could have been fired by the Joliet Police Department two years ago for fleeing the scene after realizing the car he was chasing in an off-duty capacity just crashed into a tree.

That night, Olson made no attempt to determine the extent of the injuries for the two people involved in the tree collision at Center and Bridge Streets.

Instead, Olson drove away in his squad car and did not notify anybody at the police or fire departments as to the serious crash that just occurred on the city's near west side.

"When you look at the totality of the (discipline) charges, one could easily surmise that was a fireable offense," Wooten told Patch.

"The board felt based on the severity of the discipline and the severity of the charges that he was not fit for promotion at this time."

In a separate vote, the promotion for Officer Christopher D'Arcy to sergeant was approved 4-0. During the meeting, D'Arcy was described as an exemplary Joliet officer.

On the other hand, Olson's promotion was rejected because he fled a traffic crash in November 2018 and later agreed to accept a 24-day unpaid suspension from Police Chief Al Roechner.

Officials told Joliet Patch that Olson had completed his traffic patrol shift that night and was still driving his Joliet squad car when he saw somebody on the east side of Joliet supposedly commit a traffic violation in the area of State and Ohio Streets.

The off-duty officer turned on the flashing blue and red lights, and the motorist fled.

The fleeing motorist darted west, went over the Jackson Street Bridge and accelerated up the hill with Olson giving chase. Along Bridge Street, the fleeing car came to the T-intersection at Center Street and crashed into a tree.

The driver had a female passenger inside his car. The woman remembered seeing a Joliet police officer shine a light in her direction, and then the policeman drove off.

Olson did not notify the police dispatchers of the wreck. He also did not notify on-duty Joliet officers that he was pursuing a fleeing vehicle.

Olson has been a patrol officer with Joliet since June 18, 1998.

Olson becomes the second Joliet police officer rejected for a promotion this month by the fire and police board. Wooten's board also rejected Sgt. Chris Schott's bid to become a lieutenant after Schott drew a 10-day suspension related to his behavior at an off-duty Joliet police holiday party in December. At the gathering, Schott slapped the buttocks of a detective and tried to kiss the man against the man's wishes, Joliet Patch reported last week.

In addition to the 10-day work suspension, Sgt. Schott has been kicked out of the detective bureau as a result of his behavior at the party involving alcohol and reassigned to traffic patrol.

Prior to Tuesday's vote, Capparelli, who became city manager in January, gave Olson a glowing recommendation for sergeant.

"I know that Olson has had some issues in the past," Capparelli informed the board. "He is an outstanding police officer.

"He is an outstanding police officer," Capparelli repeated. "Do not define him by one misstep. Everyone makes a mistake."

Since 2019, Capparelli said, Olson "policed his way back. Don't make that the defining moment of his career."

Capparelli said the incident that resulted in Olson's 24-day suspension "was a momentary lapse of judgment. The city of Joliet deserves to have this man promoted."

Joliet Police Supervisor John Williams, a member of the department since 2000, asked the board to promote Olson, saying Olson saved a drug overdose victim in April by providing the person with Narcan. Williams also said Olson came from a good family and was respected within the ranks of the Joliet Police Department.

Joliet Police Supervisor Peter Van Gessel, a member of the department since 1998, told the board Olson grew up in Lockport and graduated from Western Illinois University with a bachelor's in criminal justice. Olson then worked several years as a security guard at St. Joe's hospital. After joining the Joliet police, Olson served as a K-9 officer for many years and as a field training officer.

"Rich is being judged by one incident brought on by fatigue," Van Gessel told the board.

In regard to Olson's 24-day work suspension two years ago, Olson "took his punishment" from Chief Roechner "who had past issues with him," Van Gessel said.

Van Gessel said at Tuesday's meeting that Olson "personally did apologize to the watch commander that night," Lt. Dawn Malec, who became chief of police in January.

Joliet Police Sgt. Shana Wendt also urged the board to promote Olson. Wendt has been with Joliet police since 2000 and a supervisor since 2017.

She said his judgment "on that one night in question should not stop him from becoming a police supervisor. The city of Joliet would miss out if it did not promote him to the rank of sergeant."