CL Officer Suspended after Incident Involving District 47 Superintendent

A Crystal Lake police officer has been given a three-day, unpaid suspension for not following department protocol during a Sept. 9 incident involving District 47 Superintendent Donn Mendoza, the Northwest Herald reports.

Officer Brian Burr did not follow department procedure when he responded at 2:30 a.m. to Autumn Drive, after a neighbor reported a suspicious vehicle parked outside a residence. Burr found Mendoza sitting in the back seat of his Honda Pilot, parked seven houses from his home, and smelling of alcohol and appearing intoxicated, according to the article.

Burr never gave Mendoza a field sobriety test, gave the school superintendent a ride home and did not search him before allowing Mendoza into the squad car, as he should have, the article said. The Northwest Herald reports that Mendoza said he had one drink and was not intoxicated, only exhausted after returning from a day-trip to South Bend, Ind., for Notre Dame football game.