Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak: Where Are The Police Officers Now?
In the show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which is available on Netflix, the audience is taken through Jeffrey Dahmer’s murdering rampage. However, the show also narrates that the serial murderer could have been captured much earlier if the authorities had been slightly more vigilant. Glenda Cleveland, Jeffrey’s neighbor, called the police late one night in May 1991 and reported that a young lad in his early teens had wandered out of the apartment of the serial killer while appearing to be under the influence of drugs. Jeffrey’s apartment was the location of the call.
However, in spite of her concerns, Officers Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak asserted that they did not observe any inappropriate behavior.
Who Are Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak?
On the 27th of May, 1991, Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak were working as police officers for the Milwaukee Police Department when they received a normal report concerning a teenage kid who was found to be without a guardian. The call was regarding the youngster’s situation. When Joseph and John arrived at the scene, they discovered Glenda Cleveland, along with Sandra Smith, Tina Spivey, and Nicole Childress, encircling a naked and bleeding individual who was sitting unmoving on the stairs outside of the apartment. The victim was Glenda Cleveland. It just so happens that Sandra, Tina, and Nicole were the ones who first spotted the Lao youngster and alerted the authorities to his existence.
When Joseph and John started asking around, they found out that the person, who had not yet revealed his name, was spotted leaving Jeffrey Dahmer’s flat while in a delirious state. This information was discovered after Joseph and John began their investigation. In addition, it appeared as though he had been drugged because he was unable to respond to the police officers and the women who were surrounding him. Glenda Cleveland, who lives next door to Jeffrey, stated that the individual looked to be in his early teens and was in need of assistance. She kept pleading with the officers to rescue him and get him back to his house by taking him to a secure location.
However, at that time, Jeffrey Dahmer arrived on the scene and asserted that the individual in question was his lover who was 19 years old. Dahmer was present at the moment of the alleged crime. Jeffrey alleges that the two got into an argument prior to the purported lover of Jeffrey’s asking him to go grab some booze from the store. This story was vigorously denied by Glenda and the other women who were there at the incident, and they kept pleading with the officers to take the boy somewhere safe. However, Joseph and John reported that they had seen nothing out of the ordinary, and as a result, they gave Jeffrey permission to accompany him to his flat.
Later on, it was found out that the person in question was Konerak Sinthasomphone, who was only 14 years old at the time of his death later that night. After Jeffrey drilled a hole in the victim’s head and poured hydrochloric acid inside, the victim awoke and made an attempt to flee the scene. Jeffrey was arrested for the crime. As soon as the police officers gave Jeffrey permission to take Konerak back up to the flat, the serial murderer made an effort to pour more hydrochloric acid inside, which ultimately resulted in Konerak’s death. However, a report from the New York Times stated that after Jeffrey was arrested, he claimed that he had strangled the teenager as soon as the police had left the scene.
John Balcerzak’s Bio
John A. Balcerzak is a former police officer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who was born on April 15, 1957. He served as president of the Milwaukee Police Association (the police union representing Milwaukee officers) from 2005 to 2009 and was born on April 15, 1957. In 1991, Balcerzak and Joseph T. Gabrish came to the attention of people all over the country after they were sacked from their jobs for having given a youngster who had been harmed to the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer despite the protestations of witnesses. The policemen filed an appeal over their dismissal, and as a result, Judge Robert J. Parins decided to reinstate them and award them back pay in the amount of $55,000 apiece. In 2017, Balcerzak reached his retirement age from the Milwaukee Police Department.
Who Was The Victim of Jeffrey Dahmer?
The victim, 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone, was found by three women, Sandra Smith, Tina Spivey, and Nicole Childress, after he had managed to escape from Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment, naked, bruised, bleeding from the buttocks area, and heavily under the influence of drugs. Dahmer had been holding Konerak Sinthasomphone captive for several days.
After placing a call to 9-1-1, Childress received assistance from Balcerzak, Joseph T. Gabrish, and Richard Porubcan, in addition to an ambulance from the fire department.
Members of the ambulance crew believed that Sinthasomphone required medical attention; nevertheless, they were told to leave the scene by the officers.
Despite the fact that the Laotian immigrant had been in the country for ten years and spoke English effectively, he was unable to express his condition to the authorities or to the three women since he was under the influence of drugs and had suffered a brain injury.
Despite the objections of the three female victims, Dahmer was able to convince the authorities that the boy was actually his 19-year-old girlfriend.
Smith recognized the boy from the neighborhood, and the three women reiterated their concerns; however, the officers, who were convinced that the incident was a domestic dispute, told them to “shut the hell up.” Smith recognized the boy from the neighborhood, and the three women repeated their concerns.
The officers took Sinthasomphone back to Dahmer’s flat where they put it away.
Balcerzak stated that he did not notice any strange odors, however Gabrish stated that he did find a foul odor, which most likely originated from the body of Tony Anthony Hughes, who had been murdered by Dahmer three days previously.
The officers recorded the event as a “home squabble involving homosexuals,” but they did not take any other action in response to the incident.
Within an hour of them leaving, Dahmer would murder Sinthasomphone, perform oral sex on his body, and then dismember him. This would all take place in the same room.
Dahmer was found guilty of killing Sinthasomphone and sixteen other people between the years 1978 and 1991 and was sentenced to fifteen consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1992. In 1994, a fellow inmate named Christopher Scarver, who had also been convicted of murder, beat Dahmer to death.
An audiotape of Balcerzak and Gabrish making homophobic slurs to their dispatcher and cracking jokes about having rejoined the “lovers” sparked a lot of backlash after Dahmer’s arrest, and it was released online for the public to hear. They were terminated, and Porubcan was given a one-year probationary period at his workplace. Because the officers did not examine Dahmer’s identification, they were unaware that he was a sexual offender and had been convicted of child molestation in 1988. The victim in that case was Sinthasomphone’s older brother, who was 13 years old at the time of the incident. After some time had passed, the city of Milwaukee made a payment to the boy’s family in the amount of $850,000 to resolve a lawsuit regarding the way the police had handled the issue.
Both officers filed appeals regarding their dismissal. In June of 1994, after a ruling in favor of the officers by Judge Robert J. Parins, they were given their jobs back.
John Balcerzak in a Union Official Capacity
In May of 2005, Balcerzak prevailed over Sebastian Raclaw to win the presidency of the Milwaukee Police Association. The final vote tally was 521 to 453, with Balcerzak winning. As president, he was criticized for not protecting officers from mandatory overtime and for not supporting African-American officer Alfonzo Glover, who was charged with homicide on 30 May 2006 and later committed suicide on the same day. Both of these things occurred on the same day. A disagreement with Balcerzak’s “leadership style” led to the resignation of the union vice president in June of 2006. In August of 2006, a recall election was held after a petition was submitted with the intention of removing Balcerzak from office. The final tally was 213 votes in favor of recalling him, and 397 votes in favor of keeping him. Balcerzak was not re-elected to his post as a trustee during an election held on October 9, 2009, and he resigned from his role as president on December 31, 2009.
Where Are Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak Now?
When the authorities finally had enough evidence to arrest and charge Jeffrey Dahmer, the chief of police, Philip Arreola, tried to do some damage control by suspending Joseph Gabrish and John Balcerzak with pay while an investigation into their actions was conducted. This was done after the police found enough evidence to arrest and charge Dahmer. As a matter of fact, John was a witness in the case against Jeffrey Dahmer and contributed to his sentencing to prison. In the end, the officers were judged to be guilty of gross negligence, and they pled no contest to the charge of being unfamiliar with the obligations of the police department. This resulted in their dismissal from the police force in the year 1991.
The decision to fire Joseph and John was affirmed by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission in 1992, despite the fact that Joseph and John voiced their opposition to the decision. However, in 1994, a judge made the final decision to order Joseph and John to be reinstated with around $55,000 in back pay each. Following their reinstation, Joseph and John went on to enjoy long careers in police enforcement. John Balcerzak chose to remain in Milwaukee, where he was eventually successful in his bid for the presidency of the Milwaukee Police Association in 2005.
John held the role until 2009, after which he decided to stand down and pursue a successful career as a high-ranking law enforcement officer. However, according to the sources, John retired in 2017 and appears to be living in Milwaukee, which is located in the state of Wisconsin. On the other side, Joseph started his career in law enforcement in 1993 when he joined the Grafton Police Department. Twenty-six years later, in 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Captain. In addition to this, many sources claim that Joseph served as the Chief of Police in Trenton, Wisconsin, and that he is still actively working in the field of law enforcement.