Mayor O'Dekirk Q&A On Officer Brian Nagra Firing

JOLIET, IL — At this time last summer, Joliet police officer Brian Nagra, a 19-year veteran, found himself under scrutiny in connection with allegations that he had been falsifying documents to inflate his overtime totals by several thousand dollars.

When the issue arose, Brian Benton was still the chief of police and David Hales was in the middle of his first — and only year — as Joliet's city manager, making a $215,000 base salary, plus a monthly car allowance.

Several weeks passed and nothing was being done, according to Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk.

Then in August, Benton submitted his retirement papers to the city, rather than take any actions against Nagra. With Benton on the way out, Al Roechner was appointed as interim chief.

In October, Joliet's City Council negotiated a severance package to get rid of Hales, paying him about $89,000 to break the terms of his three-year contract with the city of Joliet. With Hales gone, corporation counsel Marty Shanahan was named as the interim city manager.

In January, Chief Roechner announced the firings of Nagra and another long-time Joliet officer, Lionel Allen, for separate reasons. Yet, to this day, both Joliet police officers remain on the city payroll as a result of appealing their terminations.

Nagra and Allen continue to get paid every two weeks, just like the rest of Joliet's police officers, with the one obvious exception: Joliet's other officers are showing up for work several days a week while Nagra and Allen are getting paid to stay home, kick back in their recliners and watch daytime episodes of Maury, if they desire.

This week, Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, a former Joliet police officer in the 1990s, responded to several questions from the Joliet Patch regarding the ordeal surrounding Nagra.

As Joliet Patch reported earlier this month, Brian Nagra just marked his 20th anniversary on the Joliet police force, so, theoretically, he can notify the city of his retirement anytime and begin collecting his police pension. The city couldn't take action to prevent that from happening at this stage.

The same scenario would also be true for Allen, who joined the police department around 1989.

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Joliet Patch: Your city administration has been blamed for dragging its heels on efforts to schedule a termination hearing for Brian Nagra. Why do you maintain this is an unfair criticism?

Mayor O'Dekirk: "The Mayor’s office is not responsible for handling discipline of any city employee, including police officers. However, the initial investigation of this matter was brought to my office by the police command staff in June of 2018 with a request that the Inspector General (Chris Regis) conduct the investigation. The investigation was done by Mr. Regis and turned over to the city manager and police command staff.

"As of the end of August, 2018 there was sufficient evidence to terminate the employment of Brian Nagra. The former city manager and police chief chose neither to terminate his employment, nor place him on administrative leave, but instead allowed him to work as a police officer for another five months. The current police chief, under interim city manager Marty Shanahan, recommended termination in January 2019.

"Pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, Brian Nagra chose to appeal that decision to the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners (BOPFC). Section 5.2 (a) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Joliet and the Fraternal Order of Police states, in part, 'If the Final Decision includes ... termination, and the employee elected on the Election Form to have the case heard by the BOFPC, then the Chief must file the appropriate charges before the BOFPC.' As of today’s date, the Chief of Police has not filed charges before the Police and Fire board, therefore the matter is still pending as is the termination appeal filed by Officer Lionel Allen."

Joliet Patch: What are some of the key misconceptions about the Brian Nagra case that you believe need to be cleared up for the public?

Mayor O'Dekirk: "Unfortunately, some people have tried to use this as a political ploy against myself and Mr. Shanahan. As I stated before, my only involvement in this manner was when the former Chief of Police asked my office to conduct the investigation. From there, I have had no involvement in the process other than a conversation with the current Chief where my opinion on the process was solicited. Any attempt by me, or any other City Council member, to interfere would be unethical. Mr. Shanahan has helped Chief Roechner move the matter forward, and attempts made to besmirch him are both unfair and factually wrong."

Joliet Patch: Do you believe Brian Nagra has been given special treatment since the city informed him of its intentions of firing him?

Mayor O'Dekirk: "No. As I mentioned earlier, a second officer was also fired on the same date. His matter is also pending. There have been police discipline or firings that have taken much longer to complete. There have also been cases where police terminations were overturned and the officer returned to employment. In those cases, the City of Joliet was forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay because of the finding of wrongful termination by the City. There is a legal process which needs to be followed, and if it is not the people of Joliet pay for the mistakes made by either the Police Command Staff or the City’s Legal Department. "

Joliet Patch: Can you think of anything else you want to add regarding this particular issue and how the case has been handled so far?

Mayor O'Dekirk: "No, but I appreciate the opportunity to present the facts regarding this matter to the people of Joliet. As an elected official, I believe we should be held out for public scrutiny when appropriate, especially when citizens tax dollars are at stake. I also think it is important that we be allowed to answer questions or concerns that our citizens have. If there are any other issues you would like me to comment on, or have follow up questions, feel free to email again."