Robert Collins Jr. is out as Dolton police chief, ending his second tour as the village’s top cop, and said he has hired an attorney to “look into the circumstances” surrounding his dismissal.

Collins said he was told he was being terminated Oct. 5 in a letter from Dolton Village Administrator Keith Freeman. He said he understood his firing was “under the orders of the mayor,” Tiffany Henyard, but that he could not go into details about the letter’s contents.

Collins said Wednesday he had been told by Freeman the day before the letter was delivered “that I was doing a great job.”

Collins was among the first appointments made by Henyard when she was sworn in as mayor in May 2021.

“I am charging him with bringing a comprehensive policing plan to fight crime in our community,” Henyard said at the time. “I know it’s going to take all of us to get the crime under control but know that this is one of my top priorities.”

Neither the mayor nor village administrator responded to messages seeking comment.

Collins said he was under the impression he was in good standing with the mayor, and said he had a good working relationship with department command staff and rank-and-file officers.

“It was an excellent working relationship, excellent,” he said.

Richard Blass, an attorney hired by Collins, said Wednesday he is reviewing village documents and state statutes that could have a bearing on Collins’ dismissal.

“I have been retained by him and we are exploring his options,” Blass said.

Collins said he is not receiving severance, and Blass said that is one area he is researching, and also whether Collins had an employment contract with Dolton.

Collins was Dolton’s police chief from September 2015 until May 2019, but said he was forced out by then-Mayor Riley Rogers.

Collins was hired as Harvey’s police chief in late January 2020 by Mayor Christopher Clark, after the firing of Eddie Winters, and Collins resigned in February 2021.

Winters was a 25-year Chicago Police Department veteran and former state representative and was named chief in May 2019 after Clark’s election.

In a statement upon leaving the Harvey post, Collins said he had “decided that it would be in my best interest to pursue other career goals and endeavors.”

Collins, 58, said Wednesday he was “not actively looking to stay in law enforcement” after leaving Harvey, and that Henyard wooed him to come back to Dolton.

“She called me multiple times to get me to consider being chief,” Collins said. “I ultimately said yes.”

In the 2021 primary, Henyard, then a Dolton trustee, defeated incumbent Rogers as well as Trustee Andrew Holmes and Robert Shaw, a former Chicago alderman. In the spring general election, she defeated independent mayoral candidate Ronnie Burge.

As far as his own plans, Collins said he is not sure.

“I haven’t put my name out there yet,” he said. “I don’t know what direction I am going to go in.”

Daily Southtown

Twice-weekly

See also  Russia strikes Ukrainian brigade with missile in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine says

News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday

Dolton Trustee Jason House said he received a courtesy text message from Collins after the chief’s firing. He said he is not sure who is heading the department. Lewis Lacy was named deputy chief last year.

“We’ve gotten no communication about what the plan is going forward,” House said.

Just days after Collins’ departure, police were investigating a shooting at a youth football game at Dolton’s Thornridge High School. Nobody was hurt, and police did not respond to requests for more information.

The Oct. 8 game between the Dolton Bears and South Holland Jets was disrupted by gunfire from a person who had been escorted out of the Thornridge stadium for “brandishing a firearm while calling 911,” according to the Southwest Midget Football League.

The Bears and Jets are part of the league.

“The safety and well-being of our players, their families and our dedicated supporters are the number one priority” for the league, it said.

[email protected]