Bolingbrook Officer Filmed Playing Video Poker on the Job is Under Investigation

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A police officer spotted—and filmed—allegedly playing video poker while driving his squad car in a snowstorm has been identified and is under investigation, Bolingbrook Police Lt. Mike Rompa said.

He said many of the questions about what happens next cannot be answered at this time. How was the officer identified? By markings on the squad car? Does the officer face disciplinary action? Will the officer be terminated?

"The officer in this video has been identified," Rompa said. "Due to the seriousness of this incident, the Bolingbrook Police Department has placed this under an internal investigation."

How long will it take to complete the investigation?

"These are questions which cannot be answered until the conclusion of the investigation," Rompa said. "I cannot supply a time frame, nor can I go into specifics at this time."

The video of the officer playing video poker was posted on YouTube Tuesday night, Jan. 7. By Wednesday morning, the video had logged 777 views.

The poster of the video said the incident occurred on Jan. 4. The officer's squad car is covered in places with snow, the result of a two-day storm that hit the area. The National Weather Service reported a 7-inch snowfall total for Bolingbrook from Jan. 4 to Jan. 5.

The woman who recorded the video describes it this way:

"This video was taken 01/04/2014 in Bolingbrook IL at rush hour while the roads weren't plowed and it was snowing. I was the one to capture this video in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. He was driving and trying to play video poker at the same time while road conditions were already treacherous."

original post January 08, 2014 at 09:15 AM

YOUR TURN: Are you a no-tolerance disciplinarian? Or are you willing to judge this officer on his/her record, and make a decision that goes beyond this one incident? Tell us on the comments.

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