Former Orland Park Cop Charged With Disorderly Conduct

ORLAND PARK, IL -- A former Orland Park police officer was arrested after she harassed a firefighter and made two phony reports at the Orland Park Mariano’s, prosecutors said. Roberta Kramarski, 54, of Palos Heights, appeared before Cook County Judge Michael Kane on a felony charge of disorderly conduct. She is also charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly poking the firefighter.

The prosecutor said that a firefighter from the Orland Fire Protection District was shopping for groceries for his shift on July 1, and parked the fire truck on the side of Mariano’s located at 9504 S. 142nd St. Kramarski allegedly removed a wrench from the rig and put it on the ground beside the fire engine. The prosecutor said Kramarski started yelling at the firefighter, “where’s the fire,” and made other remarks about his shopping while on the clock. She allegedly told him she had a left a present for him on the side the truck.

When the firefighter returned from shopping, the prosecutor said that Kramarski was sitting in the lot drinking orange juice. Kramarski allegedly told him that someone in the store had suffered cardiac arrest. When it turned out that no one inside Mariano’s had suffered a heart attack, the prosecutor said Kramarski reported a fire in the back of the store, which also turned out to be false.

As she was leaving, Kramarski is said to have pulled up beside the fire truck and threw the empty bottle of orange juice at the fire truck, as well as a plastic bag. The prosecutor said Kramarski fled the scene and was soon apprehended by police.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Kramarski is a U.S. Army veteran. Her family also wants to help Kramarski address her issues

Kramarski had been fired from the Orland Park Police Department in 1999, on claims that she had failed to report for light duty after undergoing nasal surgery, according to news reports. Kramarski alleged she was fired because she had filed a federal lawsuit for sexual harassment. An Appellate Court reversed the Orland Park Police Commission’s decision to fire Kramarski, and she was rehired by the department in 2002.

Kramarski was released on a $30,000 I-bond. Her next court date is July 24 in Bridgeview.