Two former Orland Park police officers, including one who an arbitrator ruled should be reinstated to his job, filed lawsuits against the village in federal court in Chicago.
William Sanchez, a sergeant and 19-year veteran of the force, alleges he was fired in March 2024 after complaining to supervisors and the village’s Human Resources Department that he was denied a promotion to lieutenant “because of his racial identity as a Hispanic Latino.”
Apart from the village, the lawsuit names police Chief Eric Rossi and Brian West, previously deputy chief and now interim village manager, among the defendants.
Sanchez said he also filed charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
Kenneth Kovac, a retired sergeant, alleges in his lawsuit that there was a conspiracy to violate his constitutional rights, including his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The Orland Park resident says he was unlawfully arrested and charged with false personation and disorderly conduct, which he said stemmed from a parody Facebook profile he created aimed at West, at the time deputy police chief. The charges were later dismissed in Cook County court, according to the lawsuit.
The village said it has been made aware of the lawsuits and that the village “stands by its actions and those of its employees and remains confident that they were appropriate and fully compliant with the law.”
“The Village is committed to maintaining a fair and inclusive workplace, upholding the highest professional standards in our employment and law enforcement practices, and ensuring that all employees are treated with respect and in accordance with the law,” according to the statement. “We will address these claims through the legal process and remain confident that the village has acted lawfully and appropriately in these matters.”
The law firm Hughes Socol Piers Resnick, & Dym, Ltd. represents both Sanchez and Kovac. The lawsuits were filed March 14.
“Sergeant Sanchez deserves to get his job back, and for Orland Park to take meaningful steps to make sure no one else has to fear for their jobs just because they voice their concerns about potential race discrimination within the police department,” Justin Tresnowski, an attorney with the firm, said in a news release.
Sanchez said he was initially notified in February 2024 he was being suspended without pay for alleged misconduct, then later fired. He said his union, the Orland Park Police Supervisors Association, filed a grievance challenging the firing and demanding arbitration.
An arbitrator ruled in January that Sanchez was not fired for just cause and ordered the village to reinstate him to his former position and “make him whole for all losses suffered.” The village is appealing the decision.
Sanchez sought reinstatement along with back pay.
At the time of his firing, Sanchez was president of the Orland Park Police Supervisors Association, a bargaining unit separate from patrol officers that represents police sergeants and lieutenants in the department.
Sanchez was hired in 2004 as a patrol officer. He was promoted to sergeant in 2021 and that August was assigned as supervisor of the department’s traffic safety unit.
He alleged harassment and racial discrimination on the part of Rossi and West, while Sanchez was alleged to have contributed to creating a hostile work environment for West.
In his lawsuit, Kovac said he created a parody Facebook page, under the profile “Bryan East,” after he became concerned about “abuses of power” within the Police Department.
West is a defendant in his lawsuit along with the village and Rossi. It seeks attorney fees, court costs and other unspecified damages.
In his lawsuit, Kovac said that, using the Bryan East name, he posted what he described as innocuous comments on the village’s Facebook page. He said he created his Facebook page in January 2024, and deleted it within about a week.
Kovac said he was subjected to an investigation, including search warrants used to examine his personal communications and other data.
During the investigation, he said, his attorney contacted the village and warned that Kovac’s Facebook activities were constitutionally protected, and that Orland Park could open itself up to liability.
Kovac said in the lawsuit that two criminal complaints were filed against him in late March 2024, and that he turned himself in April 7 of last year. The charges against him were dismissed in court this past January, according to his lawsuit.
“Sergeant Sanchez’s retaliatory termination for complaining about discrimination and Mr. Kovac’s arrest and prosecution for non-threatening parody posts online were patently illegal abuses of power,” Tresnowski said in the news release. “Mr. Kovac and Sergeant Sanchez deserve justice, and the Village must be held accountable.”
