A suburban Cincinnati man charged with murder in his wife's shooting death is a former suburban Chicago police officer.
Elk Grove Village Police Chief Stephen Schmidt says 57-year-old Jeffrey Hawkins resigned in 1999 when the department started investigating a complaint that he used unnecessary force during an arrest.
Police said Hawkins surrendered to officers at his Colerain Township home after the call Monday morning. He had told authorities his wife, 59-year-old Jo Ann Hawkins, cleaned out their bank account on Saturday — his birthday — and refused to talk to him Monday before he shot her multiple times with a .40-caliber handgun.
Asked by the dispatcher if he was still armed, he replied: "It's (the gun) on the sink. I'm not a threat to anybody. I'm a former police officer."
Hawkins identifies himself on social media as a public safety and security professional who received police training in Chicago.
His composure cracked after the dispatcher asked him what exactly had happened. He said he had called police Saturday when money was taken from their account while he was away. His wife wouldn't explain, he said.
"She just kept saying, 'Talk to my lawyer.' And I don't know, it just happened," he said, choking up. The dispatcher urged him to stay calm.
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"God forgive me," he said, then said he heard sirens.
Hawkins was charged with murder. A Hamilton County judge set $3 million bond on Tuesday, pending grand jury action next week. A phone message was left for his attorney.
Hawkins was with Elk Grove Village police from 1990 to 1999. A spokeswoman for Chicago's Field Museum says he worked as a security officer there from 1999 to 2003.
The village issued a statement saying that the department hasn't had contact with Hawkins since he resigned.
