Class-action lawsuit filed in suburban cop's staged suicide

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) - A federal class-action lawsuit has been filed by three suburban Chicago men who say they were targeted as suspects in the 2015 shooting a police officer whose death was later declared a suicide.

Raymond Willoughby, Damien Ward and Dan Cooper allege they were unlawfully arrested based on Gliniewicz's fabricated description. They were handcuffed and held in custody for hours.

The lawsuit alleges the Fox Lake Police Department had good reason to suspect from the beginning that Gliniewicz's death was a suicide, but still pursued the case.

The lawsuit filed Thursday names several police departments and the FBI.

Officials with Fox Lake and the FBI didn't immediately return messages.

Authorities say Gliniewicz staged his suicide to look like a homicide because he feared discovery of his embezzlement of youth program funds.