A former police officer last week filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Village of Orland Park, a Chicago suburb, alleging he was fired in retaliation for complaining about being denied a promotion because of his Hispanic Latino identity.
William Sanchez, who is Mexican-American, had served in the Orland Park Police Department for 19 years by May of 2023 when he went to Chief of Police Eric Rossi to discuss his frustration over not being promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
According to his complaint, Rossi had told him he would be promoted from sergeant to lieutenant when he took over as supervisor in the Traffic Safety Unit (TSU) after Lt. Phil Glecier retired. But 10 months after he stepped into the role, he remained a sergeant.
Sanchez said by his count, five previous TSU supervisors, all of whom were white, had either entered the position as a lieutenant or were promoted to that rank soon after taking on the supervisory role…