© Stacey Wescott / Chicago TribuneChicago police Cmdr. Edward Wodnicki speaks with the media on Feb. 21, 2019 in Chicago.
Area Central Cmdr. Edward Wodnicki was headed west on Interstate 94 in an unmarked department car, his blue lights flashing, when the trooper tried to stop him near Chesterton, about 45 miles from Chicago, according to the Indiana State Police.
"While patrolling I-94, I observed a vehicle having emergency blue lights on at a high rate of speed with Illinois plates," a trooper wrote in a report. "The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit ensued."
Wodnicki's Ford Fusion was clocked at more than 100 mph at one point while the commander was on a cellphone, dispatch records show.
"Not stopping," a trooper reported. "On his cell phone. He is not stopping. Passing. Waved at me when I pulled up next to him."
State police deployed spike strips, but the commander stopped before driving over them, records show.
"Request supervisor come to the scene," a trooper reported. "This is a Chicago PD unit. ... Driver advised he was enroute to his office in Chicago."
The records show Wodnicki was detained by state police for about an hour before being released. He was ticketed for speeding. It was unclear why he was in Indiana.
Before making the traffic stop, the trooper thought Wodnicki's car might be from a local volunteer fire department, authorities said. Like Chicago police cars, that fire department's vehicles are known for their distinctive blue emergency lights, said Gary Germann, prosecuting attorney for Porter County in Indiana.
But when the trooper learned the fire department wasn't on any emergency calls at the time, the trooper decided to pull the car over, Germann said, not knowing its occupant, Wodnicki, was a police officer from Chicago.
Wodnicki still was issued a speeding ticket for traveling 80 mph in a 70-mph zone, even though dispatch records show he was actually traveling at speeds higher than 100 mph. Germann explained the ticket was amended to a less serious infraction after authorities learned Wodnicki wasn't trying to flee the police and was trying to get to work.
"Once we got everything organized, we weren't overly concerned with it," Germann said.
Germann said Wodnicki paid $252.50 in court costs for the ticket. And instead of pleading guilty, the commander qualified for Porter County's "ticket deferral program," which allows motorists caught speeding to avoid a traffic conviction if they don't commit another moving violation for a year.
The Chicago Police Department's Bureau of Internal Affairs is investigating the incident, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
"Based on information received from the Indiana State Police regarding Commander Wodnicki, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has ordered an internal investigation into the entirety of a June 12, 2019 traffic stop," Guglielmi said in a statement.
Pending the review, Wodnicki has been reassigned to the Bureau of Technical Services, which oversees several administrative functions within the department. Wodnicki could not be reached for comment.
At the time of the traffic stop, Wodnicki was on his way to Area Central headquarters on Chicago's South Side to supervise an ongoing case, Guglielmi said. He could not specify what case it was.
"The superintendent's office requested Commander Wodnicki to oversee interviews about a recent death investigation," Guglielmi said. "Where he was in Indiana and all that part, the traffic stop itself, all of that will be a focus of the Internal Affairs investigation."
Wodnicki was recently in the news because he oversaw the investigation of Jussie Smollett. The Empire actor was charged in February with falsely reporting to police that he was the victim of a hate crime.
In late March, Wodnicki aired his frustrations to reporters after learning Cook County prosecutors dropped the charges against the actor in exchange for community service and forfeiture of $10,000 posted for bond.
"To get to this point now opens the door for people to say that we didn't do the job right," Wodnicki said. "It is absolutely a punch in the gut. We worked very, very closely throughout our three-week investigation to get to the point where we arrested the offender."
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