FOX LAKE, Ill. (AP) – Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was on the brink of retiring after a 30-year career in law enforcement. At 52, the tattooed police officer with a shaved head could still be tough and intimidating if the job called for it.
But he also had a sweet side that endeared him to the suburban Chicago village he had served for decades, a place where he was a constant presence at community events and a role model. Now the people of Fox Lake are mourning the officer known affectionately as “G.I. Joe” after he detoured on his way to work to pursue three suspicious men into a swamp. He ended up with a fatal gunshot wound and died Tuesday.
Hundreds of people gathered at a Fox Lake park late Wednesday for a vigil in memory of Gliniewicz.
The officer’s widow, Melanie Gliniewicz, took to a stage in Lakefront Park surrounded by her sons. She thanked the people attending the vigil and those offering their support and prayers.
“My world got a little bit smaller with his passing, and he will truly be missed by all of us,” she said, adding her husband was her “best friend, my hero, the love of my life for the last 26 and half years.”