Clinton officer fired after 'inappropriate' text exchange with teen

CLINTON, Ill. (WAND) — A police officer in Clinton was fired in October for "inappropriate communication" with a 17-year-old girl.

In a news release, Clinton Police Chief Ben Lowers said the department first received an allegation about the former officer's behavior on October 11.

Documents obtained by WAND News through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed the allegation centered around a sexually suggestive text message that the officer sent to the girl.

Lowers said the officer was terminated "without delay" after the police department carried out an internal investigation. Criminal charges were not filed against the officer, Lowers said, because the "circumstances did not meet the statutory elements of a criminal offense related to age or alleged conduct."

WAND News will not identify the former officer because criminal charges have not been pursued.

According to a written report, the former officer contacted a 911 dispatcher on October 11 and asked if he could call her on her personal cell phone.

The report said the officer told the dispatcher that while he was on duty at a local haunted house the night before, three high school-aged attendees asked him to participate in a TikTok video.

One of the girls wore sweatpants that nearly fell off while she ran during the recording, the report said.

The written report said the officer gave the teens business cards with his personal phone number on them. The officer said that the girl wearing the sweatpants later texted him.

Screenshots of the text exchange acquired by WAND through FOIA showed that during their exchange, the officer sent a message suggesting that he hoped to get a "belated birthday gift" earlier that evening. This came after the officer asked the girl if he could trust her "not to kiss and tell."

The girl attempted to clarified the officer's remark by asking him if he hoped her pants fell down. The officer said he wasn't trying to get in trouble and suggested her question might be a trap, before ultimately asking her to forget he said it. He then continued to text her after she stopped responding.

The dispatcher's report said that he even tried to call the girl at one point, but didn't get an answer.

The report said the girl's mother later called to report the officer's behavior and provided photographs of the business card he gave to her daughter and screenshots of the text exchange.

Documents show that the officer was terminated by Clinton police on October 11—hours after his misconduct was first reported.

In the news release, Lowers said the department "will not excuse misconduct, minimize violations of trust or place loyalty to individuals above our duty to the public."

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