McKeever hired as acting Grayslake police chief as McCutcheon submits resignation
Matthew McCutcheon’s brief tenure as Grayslake’s police chief is expected to officially end next week, village officials said Wednesday.
Acting Police Chief Jack McKeever said he expects to serve the department for the next two or three months in the wake of a resignation letter McCutcheon submitted to the village.
The letter comes less than two weeks after McCutcheon was arrested in Wisconsin on drunken-driving related charges. He was not available for comment Wednesday.
Village board trustees likely will be asked to accept McCutcheon’s resignation at a meeting Tuesday, a little more than two months after he started as police chief.
Trustee Bruce Bassett said he was saddened by McCutcheon’s resignation letter that’s expected to end a 21-year village career. Bassett said he and other trustees had no qualms about confirming McCutcheon, based on Mayor Rhett Taylor’s recommendation, after a lengthy search process that started with at least a dozen qualified candidates.
Bassett said he agreed with Taylor’s position that the accusations against McCutcheon are unacceptable for a chief if an internal investigation confirmed initial Kenosha County police reports.
“I guess it’s a reminder that mistakes have consequences,” he said, “and all it takes is one small decision to bring about such a sad state of affairs. It’s unfortunate it comes to this.”
McKeever said he plans to repair any “damage” in the department and community that may have resulted from the drunken driving-related charges leveled against the former chief in Wisconsin on March 30. He said he met with some officers on his first day Wednesday and will make whatever key decisions are needed at the police department.
“I had no intention of ever working again full time,” said McKeever, who retired as Lindenhurst’s top cop in 2011 ending a 40-year career that began in Highland Park as a patrol officer. “I kind of owed it to the profession.”
McKeever said part of his job as acting chief will involve talking to residents at public events in Grayslake and Hainesville. The Grayslake Police Department is contracted to cover Hainesville.
Kenosha County sheriff’s police said McCutcheon, 46, of Fox Lake, was arrested about 9:45 p.m. March 30 after the car he was driving crashed into a vehicle while making a turn near Silver Lake, Wis. He was charged with being armed while intoxicated and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
No one was injured in the collision. McCutcheon was placed on paid administrative leave April 6.
Police said McCutcheon was swaying, smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes when they interviewed him after the crash. Kenosha County authorities have yet to release his blood alcohol content.
McCutcheon was named Grayslake’s police chief Feb. 7. He joined the department in 1991, worked his way to operations commander and was appointed interim chief after Larry Herzog retired in July 2011.
As for McKeever, he was Lindenhurst’s police chief from 1993 until his retirement in 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and master’s degrees in public administration and theology.
ŸDaily Herald staff writer Lee Filas contributed to this report.