Gilberts trustees demote police chief

Despite impassioned pleas from residents, Gilberts trustees Tuesday night decided to demote their longtime police chief to lieutenant.

Mike Joswick will assume the lieutenant's position immediately while the village looks for a new chief.

Newly elected Village President Rick Zirk said he hopes to hire a retired police chief on an interim basis while the village interviews candidates for the job.

Zirk, who voted to break a 3-3 tie, said the decision was based on "philosophical differences."

"This isn't about where we're at today," Zirk said. "It's about where we want to go, how do we get to the next level and take it a notch higher."

Trustees Everett Clark, Nancy Farrell and Jesse Garcia voted to demote Joswick. Trustees Guy Zambetti, Bruce Erbeck and Patricia Mierisch voted against the demotion.

Residents, who collected signatures from 620 homeowners in support of Joswick, disagreed with Zirk.

"If 600 people don't want this done, you should hear it 600 times," said Mike Pugliese, a lieutenant with the Rutland-Dundee Fire Protection District. "You say 'philosophical differences.' I say politics."

The decision came after 75 minutes behind closed doors. Residents angrily stormed out of the meeting after the vote.

An emotional Joswick addressed them outside, thanking them for their support and saying the village needed to move forward.

"I still believe my officers do an excellent job for you folks," he said. "A lot of people came out to go to bat for me tonight, and I didn't want to give up on them because they didn't give up on me."