The police claimed that “the fraudulent Facebook pages posted comments on Village of Orland Park social media sites while also soliciting friend requests from Orland Park Police employees and other citizens, portraying the likeness of Deputy Chief of Police Brian West”—and said that this was both Disorderly Conduct and False Personation, both misdemeanors.
West got permission from his boss to launch a criminal investigation, which soon turned into search warrants that surfaced a name: retired Orland Park Sergeant Ken Kovac, who had left the department in 2019 after two decades of service. Kovac was charged, and he surrendered himself at the Orland Park Police Department on April 7, 2024.
The police then issued their press release, letting their community know that West had witnessed “demeaning comments in reference to his supervisory position within the department from Kovac’s posts on social media”—which doesn’t sound like any sort of crime. They also wanted to let concerned citizens know that West “epitomizes the principles of public service” and that “Deputy Chief West’s apprehensions were treated with the utmost seriousness and underwent a thorough investigation.”
Okay.
Despite the “utmost seriousness” of this Very Serious Investigation, a judge wasn’t having any of it. In January 2025, Cook County Judge Mohammad Ahmad threw out both charges against Kovac.
Kovac, of course, was thrilled. His lawyer told a local Patch reporter, “These charges never should have been brought. Ken Kovac made a Facebook account that poked fun at the Deputy Chief of the Orland Park Police Department. The Deputy Chief didn’t like it and tried to use the criminal legal system to get even.”
Orland Park was not backing down, however, blaming prosecutors for the loss. “Despite compelling evidence in the case, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office was unable to secure a prosecution, failing in its responsibility to protect Deputy Chief West as a victim of these malicious acts,” the village manager told Patch. “The Village of Orland Park is deeply disappointed by this outcome and stands unwavering in its support of former Deputy Chief West.”
The drama took its most recent, entirely predictable, turn this week when Kovac sued the officials who had arrested him. He told the Chicago Sun-Times that he had been embarrassed about being fingerprinted and processed “at the police department that I was previously employed at by people that I used to work with and for.”
Orland Park told the paper that it “stands by its actions and those of its employees and remains confident that they were appropriate and fully compliant with the law.”
