Firing Of Joliet Police Officer Alfonso Sanchez: Hearing Tonight
JOLIET — The city of Joliet's police and fire board will convene a hearing at 5 p.m. Monday to hear evidence from the upper administration of Police Chief Bill Evans regarding the chief's recommended firing of Officer Alfonso Sanchez from the police force.
Sanchez, who has received worker's compensation since being notified of his termination in late October, opted to appeal his firing to the city's police and fire board. That board will now decide whether the chief's termination of Sanchez is warranted or whether a different measure a discipline should be imposed.
The board consists of:
- Chairman Quinn Adamowski
- John Stefanski
- Tomas Ponce
- Natalie Coleman
- Herb Lande
In December, Joliet Patch broke the news that a Plainfield woman and a Villa Park man in their mid-20s filed separate
The lawsuits by driver Kasey Artrip and passenger Abigail Barrow also draw attention to the driving record exhibited by Officer Sanchez before and after he was hired by the Joliet Police Department in June 2022. One of the counts outlined in this week's civil lawsuits against Joliet and Officer Sanchez is a negligence count regarding supervision, training and retention.
"Defendant, city of Joliet knew or should have known that defendant, Sanchez, had a history of unsafe driving, driving without a valid license, and otherwise engaged in unsafe driving practices," declared Artrip's lawyer Steven Seidman of Chicago's Seidman Margulis & Fairman law. Barrow is being represented by the Law Offices Of Paul Jacobs in Chicago.
Although Sanchez was given a 75-day unpaid work suspension by Police Chief Bill Evans for his role in the Jan. 7, 2024 crash, injuring the two innocent motorists, it now turns out that Evans finally had enough of Sanchez.
The young officer, who marked his two-year anniversary on the force in June, was notified in late October that his days on the Joliet Police Department are over. He was served with his notice of termination.
