Off-duty Rosemont cop shoots and kills brother-in-law
A 31-year-old Rosemont man was shot and killed Wednesday by an off-duty Rosemont police officer who is the man's brother-in-law, officials said.
Joseph Caffarello was shot by the officer at 11:57 a.m. on the 6100 block of Scott Street in Rosemont's gated community, authorities said.
Caffarello was married to Deanna Caffarello, the daughter of Rosemont Village Clerk Debbie Drehobl and park board President Richard Drehobl. The officer, Rick Drehobl, is their son, village spokesman Gary Mack confirmed.
The officer, a four-year veteran of the force, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Illinois State Police, officials said.
Caffarello was the subject of a 2013 Chicago Sun-Times report for sleeping on the job as an Illinois Tollway garage supervisor. He was fired three times by tollway officials and successfully petitioned to get his job back twice.
The preliminary investigation determined the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic situation, Rosemont police said in a news release.
The shooting took place just before noon near Lange Park, located near the intersection of Scott Street and Granville Avenue. The location is about four blocks from the home of Joseph and Deanna Caffarello.
The shooting was preceded by a "relatively serious" car accident involving two vehicles, Mack said. He said he believed one vehicle was driven by Joseph Caffarello and the other was driven by Deanna Caffarello and Rick Drehobl.
Drehobl was off-duty and not driving a Rosemont police vehicle, Mack said.
At some point after the car crash, the shooting occurred. Caffarello was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and later pronounced dead.
"From the preliminary information, there was a domestic incident underway and that somehow led to the shooting taking place," Mack said.
Mack said he did not know whether both men had weapons.
Mack said Deanna Caffarello and her young child are "fine and safe."
Rosemont Public Safety Chief Donald Stephens III said in the news release that the incident was "an unfortunate tragedy" and that the department will cooperate with and assist state police in their investigation.
The shooting prompted a soft lockdown of Rosemont Elementary School, which is about five blocks from Lange Park, from about noon to 1:30 p.m. Rosemont District 78 Superintendent Kevin Anderson said the lockdown was a precaution after he received calls from parents that police had limited street access nearby, though at the time he didn't know details of the police activity.
A number of squad cars with lights flashing were on scene throughout the afternoon. Police put tape up near Scott Street and Granville Avenue.
The shooting comes less than a week after Rosemont's first homicide in more than a decade.
Cesar Garay, 20, of Rosemont was ordered held without bail during a court appearance Tuesday after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Patrick Boswell of Des Plaines. The teen was found on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head just before 9 p.m. last Friday between apartment buildings north of the Allstate Arena.
Illinois State Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said many law enforcement agencies turn to the state police to investigate officer-involved shootings, though it's not required. State police won't make a judgment on whether the Rosemont officer should be charged, Bond said, but will "put the facts together and present it to the state's attorney's office," who would be responsible for determining if charges are warranted.
Bond didn't put a timeline on when the investigation would be complete.