Elgin police Officer Jason Lentz has been fired for an inflammatory social media message he posted about undocumented immigrants in the city.
“Lentz’s termination for misconduct is warranted and necessary to uphold standards the community expects and deserves,” Police Chief Ana Lalley said in a statement released Friday.
“His actions do not reflect the standards of this agency. I ask the Elgin community to not judge our current and future officers based on the actions of one individual.”
Lalley’s decision does not affect the permanent disability benefits Lentz was granted in February by the Elgin Police Pension Board, only a few weeks before his department disciplinary hearing was to be held.
Lentz was injured on the job in 2023 and had been assigned to light duty. He applied for a disability pension on Oct. 16, the same day he was placed on administrative leave for a post in which he suggested locations in the Elgin area where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could find undocumented immigrants and tagged the agencies conducting detention arrests.
The five-member pension board had medical evaluations done by three physicians before making its decision on Lentz, a news release issued at the time said.
Under state law, the pension board operates independently of the city and the police department and its determination is separate from the city’s disciplinary process, city officials said.
Lalley’s decision to fire Lentz was backed by City Manager Rick Kozal and Corporation Counsel Christopher Beck. It was also recommended by the Civilian Review Board, which conducted its own evaluation of Lentz’s action.
“I wholly support Chief Lalley’s decision to terminate Lentz as a police officer,” Kozal said in a statement. “I was among those in the city administration demanding Lentz’s firing in 2014 for similar misconduct.”
Twelve years ago, Lentz posted a Facebook message about the shooting death of an unarmed Black man by police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. In it he wrote, “Hmmm…innocent victim my ass. Did society a favor.”
A year later an arbitrator overturned the then-police chief’s decision to fire Lentz. He was returned to his job following a six-month suspension without pay for not complying with an order to take the post down.
Kozal said the arbitrator’s action led to a new policy in which police officers now can be held “accountable for inflammatory social media posts.”
In her statement, Lalley said her decision to fire Lentz should be seen as the department’s commitment to “working with all members of the community to build lasting and meaningful relationships grounded in respect, understanding, accountability and trust. These values have not, and will not, change.”
Lentz has the right to appeal Lalley’s termination.
While it’s not known how much he is receiving in disability benefits, his salary in 2024 was $133,293, according to govsalaries.com. Police officers can receive 65% or more of their salary when approved for a disability pension, according to the Illinois State Lodge of Fraternal Order of Police.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
