The September shooting death of Illinois police officer Charles Gliniewicz sparked a manhunt for his killers, fed into growing backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement and was another rallying cry for many officers who say they feel more threatened now than ever before.
But on Wednesday, police officials confirmed that Gliniewicz had shot himself in a "carefully staged suicide" after he spent years laundering money from his police post.
"Our investigation has determined conclusively that he left a staged trail of police equipment," Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko said. "Analysts determined that the trail of equipment was an attempt to mislead first responders and investigators to believe this was a homicide."
Gliniewicz, who was with the Fox Lake Police Department for 30 years, had staged crimes before to set up scenarios for police training.
But investigators couldn't find any signs that Gliniewicz had fought for his life against his killers. Ballistic testing also confirmed that the officer had been shot twice from close range, leading investigators to determine he committed suicide.
"All possible death scenarios were considered," Filenko said.
Gliniewicz had also stolen money for at least seven years to pay for travel, "adult websites" and other items, according to Filenko.
"He was under increasing levels of personal stress from scrutiny of his management," Filenko said.
Two other "individuals" are also under investigation for criminal activity as a result of the investigation into Gliniewicz's death, though officials wouldn't elaborate because that part of the investigation is ongoing.
Investigations of three separate incidents across the country since September have revealed that three officers fabricated stories about being shot at on duty.