A south suburban mayor is being accused by a neighboring mayor of abusing his power during an incident in January involving the attempted recovery of a stolen car.
According to police records, Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz and two of his police officers tried to track a stolen car, which belonged to his family member, to Calumet City on Jan. 10.
The police dispatch conversation between Tinley Park and Calumet City revealed Glotz was in a Ford F-150, had a baseball bat and was updating law enforcement with information.
However, records show the stolen car was not at the location where it had been “pinged" in Calumet City.
Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones said Glotz acted “recklessly" and should have let the Calumet City police handle the case.
“Something could have happened to him while he was in Calumet City,” said Jones. “It was a blatant abuse of power and this should be investigated by the state police to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
The stolen vehicle was recovered at a nearby location two days later.
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Glotz told NBC 5 the incident is being “blown out of proportion” and that his family member is a victim.
Tinley Park trustee Diane Galante said she wants an investigation.
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“I’d like to know what risk the community was put in by pulling our officers from this location where they should be in place,” Galante said.
Glotz is partnering with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to present a carjacking safety seminar in Tinley Park on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Dart said the sheriff’s office had no knowledge of or involvement in the matter between Jones and Glotz.
“The Sheriff’s Office’s participation in this carjacking seminar is solely to provide information to the public, and the Office has, and will continue to, engage with elected officials, community groups, and law enforcement agencies on our efforts to combat carjacking,” the spokesperson said.
