The former head of security at Elmwood Park High School says he was wrongfully fired and is now suing in federal court after an incident last year where a student reportedly brought a gun into the school building and the security officer publicly criticized school leaders’ response.
Antonio Gonzalez, of Addison, who was the head of security at EPHS, is seeking a financial judgment – including unpaid wages plus penalties, and attorneys fees – for “unlawfully terminating his employment in retaliation for engaging in protected activities as defined under both Illinois common law and the Illinois Whistleblower Act,” according to the lawsuit filed March 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
EPHS is part of the four-school Elmwood Park School District 401 based in suburban Elmwood Park. The lawsuit does not name Superintendent Leah Gauthier as a defendant but does mention her and EPHS deans in the narrative.
Neither Gauthier nor district spokesman Sam Britten responded immediately to Pioneer Press requests for comment.
On March 6, 2023 district officials said an EPHS student was seen with a loaded gun inside the school building. After an encounter with school officials, the 17-year-old, who was not publicly identified because he is a juvenile, left the building and was arrested by River Grove police. The school building is in that police department’s jurisdiction, officials confirmed.
The lawsuit offers a bit more detail on the incident, including the role Gonzalez played.
The teen was charged with possession of a handgun, River Grove police Chief Mike Konwinski previously told Pioneer Press.
The lawsuit states that Gonzalez criticized school leaders for initially telling him the student was believed to have a vape pen, then changing that to report the boy was believed to have a loaded gun. Gonzalez also alleges that leaders failed to lock down the school building as the situation occurred.
According to the lawsuit, he called River Grove police and complained about what was going on at the high school
The lawsuit alleges SD401 violated Gonzalez’s first and fourteenth amendment rights, and the Illinois Whistleblower Act.
Gonzalez’s attorney Thalia Pacheco, of Chicago-based Fish Potter Bolanos law firm, said Gonzalez has not worked full-time since his firing in early March 2023.
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“The district was trying to withhold important information from parents and this matter could have escalated more than it did and they did not take the safety precautions necessary had there been a shooter incident,” Pacheco said “They were putting students and staff at risk and wanting to hide their bad actions. We want to bring some justice to our client who was unfairly terminated and get some resolution.”
In the days following the incident last year, dozens of students held a walkout at EPHS and also joined staff, parents and community members who protested the way the school handled the incident.
At a school board meeting days after the incident, board President Frank Parisi defended school staff’s handling of the situation.
“Law enforcement has affirmed that the actions by school staff effectively mitigated the threat and prevented violence. We believe that the decision not to call a lockdown while the student was in the building, in this case, was the right one. However, we do believe that it would have been appropriate to call a lockdown at EPHS and surrounding schools immediately once the student left the building, which would have been in place only a few minutes,” said Parisi.
Parisi also said at that time that the school security officer – Gonzalez – was under investigation and called what Gonzalez said publicly not authorized and was “inaccurate, misleading and could have compromised the ongoing district and law enforcement investigation.”
Gonzalez took over as the head of security in 2022 and continues to work part-time for the River Grove Police Department, according to his attorney.
“Mr. Gonzalez’s career has been irreparably damaged and he will never be the same,” the lawsuit states.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer. Pioneer Press staff contributed.