A retired Orland Park police sergeant filed a lawsuit against village police officials, claiming his civil rights were violated when he was arrested and charged for creating a parody Facebook page mocking the village’s former deputy police chief.
According to the suit, Kenneth Kovac created the page titled “Bryan East” in January 2024, and “jokingly” portrayed then-Deputy Chief of Police Brian West as a “simplistic and overly enthusiastic supporter” of Mayor Keith Pekau. The suit alleges Kovac started the page because he was concerned “about abuses of power” within the police department.
“None of the comments were in any way threatening,” according to the suit.
But West was angered by the parody and asked Chief of Police Eric Rossi, also a defendant in the suit, if he could begin an investigation into the page, requesting it be fast-tracked. Rossi granted West permission, the suit states.
Investigators submitted search warrant applications that contained “omissions and misrepresentations” to get them approved by a judge in order to analyze Kovac’s personal communications, the suit states. The applications did not acknowledge that the Facebook page was a parody.
Kovac was charged with false personation and disorderly conduct and turned himself into police. Those charges were dismissed “for failure to state an offense,” according to the suit.
“At the time of [Kovac’s] arrest, it was well established that the First Amendment protects speech parodying public officials,” the suit states, alleging they violated Kovac’s rights to free speech and unreasonable search and seizure.
In a statement, the village said it cannot discuss specifics on ongoing litigation but it “stands by its actions and those of its employees and remains confident that they were appropriate and fully compliant with the law.”