'First a hero, now a bum.' Slain trooper's father reflects on Gliniewicz
The father of an Illinois State Police officer run down during a high-speed police chase in 1986 says his heart goes out to Charles Joseph Gliniewicz's wife and kids for the "awful slap in the face" they've taken.
"I feel for the family for this Fox Lake lieutenant." said Bill Kugelman, whose son John Kugelman was run over by a driver trying to elude other police chasing him. "I know what it's like to lose somebody."
Bill Kugelman said he's pleased the truth has come out about what happened to Gliniewicz. Still, he says it must "an awful slap in the face" for the family.
"First he was a hero," Bill Kugelman said. "Now he's a bum. It's a shame - a damn shame."
In November 1986, Trooper John Kugelman drew his gun and stepped onto the shoulder of Route 53 near Irving Park Road near Itasca, attempting to stop a chase led by a 17-year-old on the lam from a parole violation. The driver, according to testimony at his murder trial, did not take his foot off the accelerator when he ran down Kugelman.