Scott Webb allegedly stole more than $30,000 collected for the families of fallen officers. He was indicted earlier this week and charged with felony theft. A 10-year veteran of the west suburban Woodridge Police Department, Webb resigned while under investigation.
Woodridge police union members worked to raise money for fallen officers families by organizing an annual pub crawl. Webb was reportedly one of the pub crawl's organizers. It was a huge success, according to the president of Concerns of Police Survivors, or C.O.P.S., which benefitted from the fundraisers.
They donated an average of more than $15,000 a year, until the last two years when they received no check. That's because, according to a DuPage County Grand Jury indictment, Webb stole the money.
C.O.P.S. President Craig Figgins lost his brother Dan, a 27-year veteran of the St. Charles Police Department, six years ago. He died while in a foot chase with suspects. Now his organization helps families of other fallen officers, and the money that would have been donated by the Woodridge officers would have been a substantial portion of their budget.
"My brother served for 27 years, and that's a brotherhood. It's sad to think that someone would do that," Figgins said. "We could have done a lot with $30,000." Woodridge police placed Webb on administrative leave last August when they first became aware of the allegations. Webb resigned from the department in March.
The mayor and police chief of Woodridge issued a joint statement Friday night saying: "It is indeed a sad day when any member of the law enforcement community is charged with crimes against organizations that aim to provide aid and comfort to families of heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. We are disappointed that families of fallen officers, and our community, have been victimized by alleged wrongdoing."
"There is some anger but we'll survive. We're suvivors as is," Figgins said.
Webb is being sought on a $250,000 bail arrest warrant. Police are asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.
