No Interference In Bensenville Police Inquiry: Official

BENSENVILLE, IL – A top Bensenville official said Tuesday that no elected officials interfered with the police department's handling of a case involving a trustee's husband.

Two weeks before the April 4 election, Dimas Carmona, 55, husband of Trustee Rosa Carmona, was arrested on a charge of violating the village's battery ordinance.

Video outside the police station showed Dimas Carmona striking Robert Special, husband of one of Carmona's election opponents, Valarie Special.

Patch filed a police report a day after the incident. After a week, the village said it was extending its response time by another week. The village sent the report a day after the election.

In an interview, Village Manager Evan Summers said the village government contains two sides – political and governance. A firewall, he said, stands between them.

"I'm on the governance side. We stay out of politics," Summers said. "(Freedom of Information Act requests) are handled by the governance side. My board would never overstep on that. We have one of the most professional police departments in DuPage County. I have a professional staff here, and my board respects that."

Patch filed a follow-up records request for any correspondence from Rosa Carmona or any other elected officials on the handling of the case and the records request.

The village answered Tuesday, but it produced no such correspondence, meaning it does not exist.

Dimas and Rosa Carmona have not returned a message for comment.

In the election, six candidates competed for three seats on the board. Rosa Carmona received the most votes, with 816. Valarie Special finished last, with 467.