Officer Bob Mau About To Become Joliet Police Sergeant After All?

JOLIET, IL — The city of Joliet's Board of Police and Fire Commissioners will convene a special meeting Thursday afternoon to vote on seven promotions at the Joliet Police Department, including the previously delayed promotions for Officer Bob Mau Jr. and Sgt. Julie Larson.

The 4 p.m. meeting will take place on the second floor of the Joliet Police Station — not at City Hall. The meeting agenda calls for the following promotions:

• Sergeant Julie Larson to Lieutenant Larson
• Sergeant Christopher Moore to Lieutenant Moore
• Officer Bob Mau Jr. to Sergeant Bob Mau, Jr.
• Officer David Gillespie to Sergeant Gillespie
• Officer Bill Otis, II to Sergeant Otis
• Officer Shaunza Mitchell to Sergeant Mitchell
• Officer Nick Giordano to Sergeant Giordano

Joliet's police and fire board is appointed by Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, and three of the mayor's appointees: Rosa Hernandez, Janean Jackson and Quinn Adamowski were on the ballot in Tuesday's Joliet City Council races. The other two members are Brad Price and John Lukancic.

In December, Mau was facing a vote for a promotion to sergeant and Larson for a promotion to lieutenant. In the middle of the meeting, the board voted 3-2 to delay making a decision on both of the promotions. At no meeting since then, have Mau or Larson been on the agenda.

Joliet Patch has published numerous articles about Officer Mau's history of violence and his disciplinary record with the Joliet Police Department.

Mau is also a legacy Joliet police officer. His father, who is retired from the force, was a sergeant for Joliet police.

Back in 2012, Bob Mau Jr. agreed to serve a 120-day unpaid work suspension from the Joliet Police Department as part of a "last chance agreement" to remain a city police officer. Mau pleaded guilty in November 2011 to battery and lost a May 2016 civil lawsuit filed by his victim, resulting in garnished wages of $55,958 from Mau's city paychecks between 2016 and 2019, was up for a promotion to become a Joliet police sergeant.

In more recent years, Mau has been involved in other disciplinary matters and controversial arrests, Patch has reported.

In July 2018, Mau was involved in one of the most controversial Joliet police traffic stops in recent years — an incident shared on YouTube that sparked several Black residents to air their concerns about racial profiling and excessive force to Joliet's City Council.

That year, Mau received a written reprimand from the internal affairs unit for failing to indicate the reason for stopping the driver late at night on Joliet's east side in a predominantly Black neighborhood. After repeatedly refusing to tell the young Black motorist why he had pulled him over, Mau shattered the driver's window with his baton and yanked him out of his car. Minutes later, Mau returned to the car and deployed his Taser on one of the Black passengers.

In January 2021, outgoing Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner issued Mau another written reprimand, this time for not completing the department's use of defensive action report. In that case, Mau avoided receiving punishment for excessive and unnecessary force.

"An investigation was conducted concerning your actions that on May 31, 2020, you used excessive and unnecessary force while effecting an arrest," Roechner wrote in Mau's internal affairs summary. "You also failed to complete a defensive action report prior to the end of your tour of duty. The complaint has been investigated and on the basis of available evidence has been found to be sustained in part and not sustained in part."

Related Joliet Patch coverage of Bob Mau Jr:

Joliet Cop Who Beat Ex-Fiancee's Friend Now Up For Sergeant

Mau Shatters Black Driver's Window, Gets Reprimand After Incident

Officer Mau, Sgt. Julie Larson Aren't Getting Promoted: Capparelli