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Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was found shot dead on Sept. 1 in Fox Lake, a Chicago suburb, and his death quickly became a rallying point for the alleged “war on cops.” However, despite a manhunt to find his “killers,” it turns out that Gliniewicz actually committed suicide. 

Reports the Chicago Tribune:

Authorities have called a news conference for Wednesday to announce “significant new information” regarding the shooting death of a Fox Lake police officer, and multiple law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation have told the Tribune that authorities are expected to announce that he took his own life.

The sources say that authorities believe Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, 52, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sept. 1.

The new information comes two months after officers found Gliniewicz mortally wounded in a remote, marshy area of the village near the Wisconsin border.

Around 8 a.m. Sept. 1, Gliniewicz radioed that he was pursuing two white males and a black male. Dispatchers lost contact with Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran and a fixture in Fox Lake, and responding officers found him shot and his .40-caliber handgun rested nearby.

Rumors that Gliniewicz took his own life started circulating back in September.

Almost immediately after his death, the incident was spun as the latest evidence of a “war on cops” (see: Police Lives Matter) with some even reaching far enough to say the Black Lives Matter movement was to blame for anti-cop sentiments.

Clearly, that didn’t pan out in this case.

UPDATE: It turns out Gliniewicz staged his death after embezzling money.

Reports CBS  News:

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko, who led the two-month investigation into the Sept. 1 death of Fox Lake Police Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz, said the popular officer embezzled thousands of dollars from the Fox Lake Police Explorer program for seven years. He said Gliniewicz spent the money on things like mortgage payments, travel expenses, gym memberships and adult websites.

“We have determined this staged suicide was the end result of extensive criminal acts that Gliniewicz had been committing in fact he was under increasing levels of personal stress from scrutiny of his management of the Fox Lake Police Explorer program,” Filenko said at a news conference announcing the investigation’s findings.

“Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal,” he added.

SMH.

See a report on the flip.

Photo: AP/handout

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