Former Lake County Major Crimes Task Force commander and Police Chief George Filenko and the Village of Round Lake Park are being sued by ten of the municipality’s police officers over “highly offensive and voyeuristic intrusions” through the use of body cameras that operated “non-stop,” in recording images of the officers in the bathrooms and changing areas of the station.

The June 22 filing, in the Northern District of Illinois Court at Chicago, further alleges that the only individuals with access to the recordings were Chief Filenko, who resigned from the task force in April, and the department’s Deputy Chief Edward Burch. The recordings were made over a seven-month period, following the introduction of body cameras into the daily work regimen, to promote transparency between the department and community-at-large.

The suit states the recordings showed the officers “engaged in private and personal acts” such as using the toilet, where their genitals may have been exposed. The officers indicate the recordings violated their civil rights and invaded their privacy. Each officer is seeking upwards of $100,000 in damages.

In a statement issued June 23, Filenko reacted to the lawsuit. “The police officers who filed the lawsuit against the village made a quick rush to judgment, without considering all of the facts. The village appointed an independent counsel to investigate the operation of the body cameras to determine whether there was any impropriety in their use.

“That investigation is not yet concluded. Not only did the plaintiff officers jump the

gun in filing the lawsuit, they also refused to cooperate with the investigation initiated to get to

the truth of the matter.” Filenko did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

The officers suing are Daniel Burch, Deiky Colon, Dominick Izzo, Hector Lepe, Matthew T. Lyons, Randy R. Reuter, Walter Rodriguez, Joseph Segreti, Jonathan R. Shepard, Christopher Valle and Waymon Vela, according to the court documents.

The recordings allegedly came to light when Izzo was reviewing footage from his body camera, for another case, while using Burch’s personal access security code. The cameras were “rolling,” although the “off” or “sleep” mode was activated, the suit alleges. Only Burch and Filenko had access to the video system, the suit alleges. Izzo was not available for comment, at press time.

The court filing says an internal memo indicated problems with the cameras’ operation, and later, another officer claims to have witnessed Burch erase all of the video. That act is in violation of Illinois state statute that requires all body camera recordings be maintained for a 90-day period.

The body cameras, which record video from the officer’s protective vest as a vantage point, may be used as evidence in court proceedings to show interactions between police and individuals. The Allen, TX-based firm of Enforcement Video, LLC, doing business as WatchGuard Video, sold the body cam system to the village.

Filenko, 60, spent the last six years as the task force’s commander and was involved with many high-profile criminal cases including the suicide of Fox Lake police officer Lt. Charles Gliniewicz and the interrogation of Melissa Calusinski. He retired from the task force last Apr. 1, and was replaced by Det. Kyle Helgensen, of the Zion police department, in an acting capacity.

The Sept. 1 death of Gliniewicz set in motion a massive 48-hour manhunt for three suspects, with a nebulous description from the officer, and came up empty. The task force, with Filenko in charge, embarked on a two-month investigation. The death was perceived as a homicide with little refuting information.  Stories that the death was actually a suicide were spreading by September. Allegations of obstructing justice through a “cover-up” were leveled at the task force. At a Nov. 4 press conference, Filenko stated the death was “a carefully staged suicide masked as a homicide.”