Judge upholds firing of Drew Peterson’s son
BY CHUCK FIELDMAN Sun-Times Media March 18, 2013 11:41PM
Updated: April 20, 2013 6:37AM
The firing two years ago of former Oak Brook police officer Stephen Peterson — the son of convicted wife killer Drew Peterson — was upheld Monday by DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Terence Sheen.
After being fired by Oak Brook’s police and fire commission in 2011, Stephen Peterson filed a lawsuit in DuPage County, seeking to overturn his dismissal. Peterson was let go after the commission determined he had not disclosed important information to Illinois State Police during their investigation into the disappearance of his father’s fourth wife, Stacy.
Drew Peterson was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. He also is considered the main suspect in Stacy’s disappearance.
Authorities have said Stephen Peterson was given three weapons and $236,000 by his father shortly after Stacy vanished from her Bolingbrook home on Oct. 28, 2007, but didn’t immediately disclose that information to investigators.
“In this case, it was in no way arbitrary or unreasonable for the board to conclude that Officer Peterson exhibited conduct incompatible with continued service as a police officer,” Sheen wrote in his opinion. “Therefore, this court finds that Officer Peterson’s conduct, when viewed in its entirety, warrants the sanction of discharge.”
In firing the Stephen Peterson, commissioners in a prepared statement said he “used extremely poor judgment with respect to the weapons and the money he received from his father.”
“We agree with the judge’s decision and the actions our police and fire commission took,” Oak Brook village manager David Niemeyer said.
Peterson has 30 days to appeal Sheen’s decision to the Illinois Appellate Court.
