Lake County Undersheriff sues former sheriff candidate for defamation
The second-highest ranking member of the Lake County Sheriff's Office has filed a defamation lawsuit against a former sheriff candidate over comments posted on Facebook.
Raymond Rose, named Lake County Undersheriff in 2013, is seeking $100,000 plus punitive damages after former sheriff's deputy John Krempotic called Rose “schizophrenic” in a posting on the social media website. The lawsuit also claims Krempotic called Rose “corrupt,” and said Rose was thrown out of a pizza restaurant by Waukegan Police.
Krempotic lost to Jason Patt, 36, of Zion, in the Democratic primary for Lake County Sheriff in March. Krempotic said Thursday he is working to help Patt defeat Sheriff Mark Curran in the November general election.
Rose's lawsuit, filed Aug. 27 in Lake County circuit court, claims the listings were potentially seen by 831 people. It states Krempotic's Facebook accusations from Aug. 7 to Aug. 20 are false and designed to “undermine his position, character and authority.”
Specifically, the lawsuit states, Rose has never been in Quonset Pizza in Waukegan or “tossed out” of any establishment. It also states he has never had any mental health issues, but if he did, the release of such personal information would be protected by state HIPPA laws.
Rose called the comments “inappropriate and outrageous.”
“I have been doing this for 46 years, and I pride myself on integrity and credibility,” he said. “The untrue statements he made reflects negatively on me, my family, and on the Lake County Sheriff's Office in the eyes of the community.”
Rose added he has never worked with or met Krempotic during his tenure in law enforcement.
Krempotic said he has consulted with an attorney, who agrees the Facebook statements are protected under the First Amendment governing free speech.
“Through my brief stint in law school, I vividly recall the First Amendment,” he said. “He's a public person and Facebook is basically a gossip column.”
As for the Waukegan pizzeria issue, Krempotic said he heard a rumor Rose was asked to leave the establishment, and he was seeking “someone to verify the information.”
“But, it wasn't a specific allegation where I said what he did,” he said. “It was just a rumor that I was commenting on.”
The two sides are expected to meet in court Nov. 20, about two weeks after the Nov. 4 election.