Fox Lake police chief, officer placed on paid leave

Fox Lake Police Chief Michael Behan and an unidentified officer have been placed on paid leave pending a new investigation into a physical confrontation with a suspect that occurred late last year, village officials announced Friday.

Behan and the officer were placed on leave Aug. 13, according to a statement Village Administrator Anne Marrin released to the media.

Private investigators were hired by the village to look into the December 2014 confrontation because they have concerns with "how the incident was investigated, when it was investigated and how decisions regarding findings and discipline were reached," Marrin said.

"We're just trying to make sure everything was handled the way it should have been handled," Marrin told the Daily Herald Friday in a subsequent interview.

Marrin wouldn't say why Behan was placed on administrative leave, citing the new investigation. The chief could not immediately be reached for comment.

No criminal charges have been filed, nor has there been any civil litigation regarding the case,

Behan has been Fox Lake's police chief since 2006. He's worked for the department for 33 years, Marrin said. The officer is a 17-year veteran of the department, she added.

The confrontation followed the arrest of a 36-year-old man suspected of public intoxication, Marrin said.

The officer and the suspect had a verbal and physical altercation at the police station, Marrin said. The suspect was released the next day.

Marrin didn't know Friday afternoon if the man was charged with a crime.

The officer was disciplined for the confrontation the same month, she said.

No other information about the arrest or the confrontation was released.

The new investigation began last week. Marrin wrote that the inquiry will be completed "in a timely manner" but didn't say how long she expects it will take.

Village officials have not yet chosen an interim chief to run the department, Marrin said.