November 01, 2024
Crime & Courts

Court rules in favor of city in case of terminated Yorkville police officer

By Lucas Robinson

Yorkville Sgt. Sarah Klingel in a screenshot from the video of a September 2017 arrest that led to an internal investigation into the arresting officers' conduct. (Photo provided)

This is a developing story and will be updated.

A Kendall County court ruled in favor of the City of Yorkville to not reinstate a former city police sergeant fired in 2018 for on-the-job misconduct.

The city sued the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police over a arbitrator's decision to reinstate Sgt. Sarah Klingel despite repeated violations of police policy. 23rd Circuit Court Judge Stephen Krentz ordered to vacate the arbitrator's decision in a ruling given Friday, Dec. 11.

"The Arbitrator's decision to reinstate the officer, despite the decision of the Chief of Police that termination was warranted, sends a message to the public that police departments must continue to employ officers guilty of misconduct, even when they interfere with the resulting investigation," Judge Krentz wrote.