Police Chief's 2 'Firings' Have Cost Taxpayers $178,015 So Far

JOLIET, IL — The two veteran police officers notified many months ago that Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner was terminating their employment remain on the city's regular payroll and have made a combined $178,015 since being relieved of their police duties, Joliet Patch has learned.

Joliet Patch obtained this year's payroll records for Officers David Blackmore and Bill Busse through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Roechner announced the firing of Blackmore on Dec. 27, 2019. "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," Blackmore's termination letter from the chief reads.

Busse learned he was being ousted by the chief on Feb. 28. He was the officer who was arrested on two different occasions in 2019 on charges of committing domestic battery against his ex-wife.

Since facing grounds for termination, Blackmore has collected 24 regular paychecks of $4,106 for staying home from the job, plus an annual court stipend, plus holiday pay. In total, Blackmore has received $101,260 since being relieved of duty by the chief, Patch determined.

In Busse's case, he has received 21 regular paychecks of $3,655 since being told of his termination two months into the year.

During these past nine months, Busse has made $76,755 since the chief notified him of his dismissal.

Both officers disputed the reasons offered by the chief for their firings, appealing their terminations to the city's police and fire commission. At that point, it was up to the chief and his administration to present evidence to justify firing the respective officers.

Instead, Chief Roechner and his administration have chosen to let Blackmore and Busse remain on the city's payroll this entire year.

By taking that approach, not only do Blackmore and Busse continue to get a regular paycheck every two weeks, the Joliet Police Department remains two officers short of its necessary manpower. The police department is authorized to have 272 officers, and Busse and Blackmore still hold two of those positions because their terminations have not taken effect.

As long as Busse's and Blackmore's terminations don't go to the police and fire board, Roechner does not have the ability to replace Busse and Blackmore on the roster at the Joliet Police Department.

Back in May, when Joliet Patch first reported on the continued payments for Blackmore and Busse while their termination hearings remained in limbo, Roechner told Patch that COVID-19 was partly to blame for the legal process dragging on for several months without resolution.

Now, another six months have passed and Roechner still has not presented his evidence to the city's police and fire board to justify why he fired Blackmore and Busse in completely unrelated cases.

"COVID, it messed up everything," Roechner told Joliet Patch in late May.

During the May interview, Roechner told Patch he intended to move forward with the termination hearings for Busse and Blackmore sooner rather than later.

"We know we're solid on everything," Roechner said in May. "I look forward to bringing (the evidence) forward so everyone knows the truth on both cases."

June, July, August, September, October, and now November have come and gone, and Roechner still has yet to show the police and fire board why he fired Blackmore and Busse.

Patch reached out to Roechner, but he did not return a voice mail message seeking comment for this article.

One of Roechner's last high-profile disciplinary measures, a 25-day suspension for Joliet Detective Joe Clement, was overruled in October by interim city manager Jim Hock. Clement's five-week unpaid suspension was reduced to a written reprimand, and Clement received more than $10,000 in back pay as a result of Roechner's mess up, the city administration ruled.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Joliet Spends $1.5 Million On 11 Outside Law Firms In 2020

2 Joliet Cops Recommended For Firing Still On Payroll

Veteran Officer David Blackmore Fired By Roechner Dec. 27

Joliet Cop On 'Empire' Gets Fired By Roechner