Libertyville PD Let Waukegan Cop Off The Hook After DUI: Report

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — A Waukegan police officer was let off the hook instead of getting a DUI charge, according to police footage obtained by the Lake County News-Sun. The non-arrest isn't the only recent example of local police going easy on each other.

On Sunday Nov. 12, 2017, soon before 3 a.m., Waukegan Officer Daniel Ramirez was pulled over on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville for speeding. The Libertyville cop who pulled him over, Officer Richard Kelly, administered a breathalyzer test, which Ramirez failed with a .17, over twice the legal limit.

Ramirez didn't have his driver's license on him, footage shows, but did have a U.S. passport and a Waukegan police ID.

Ramirez attempted a breathalyzer a few times, the video shows. When the sample finally took, Kelly looked at the device and asked Ramirez if he could call for a ride.

“I hate to give the guy — He blew a 0.17,” an accompanying officer said in a phone call with dispatch, in audio obtained by the News-Sun. “We’re not going to give him a break if he’s claiming to be an officer and he’s not an officer anymore.”

Libertyville police called the Waukegan station to confirm that Ramirez was in fact an officer. When they confirmed it, they let him call an Uber home and parked his car for him, according to the News-Sun.

Ramirez was not charged, the News-Sun reports. His punishment consisted of a 40-hour unpaid suspension. Libertyville Officer Kelly was found not to have violated policies, but should be further trained.

See the Lake County News-Sun's full report and footage.

This isn't the first time in recent years that police in Lake County have been accused of giving other cops breaks.

Waukegan Deputy Chief Gabriel Guzman was allowed to call for a ride home after he was stopped for suspected speeding and weaving, the News-Sun reported in December 2017. The investigation didn't begin until about two months later.

In February 2017, a rookie Waukegan police trainee was found "passed out behind the wheel of his car,” the outlet reports, and was given a ride home by a Waukegan police sergeant.

Patch's questions to Waukegan police about their handling of Ramirez were referred to the News-Sun article linked above.

The Libertyville Police Department wasn't immediately available for comment.

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