Jump directly to the content
UNDER SCRUTINY

Who is John Balcerzak and where is he now?

JOHN Balcerzak is one of two Milwaukee police officers who were involved in the trial of serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer.

Balcerzak and Joseph Gabrish played a controversial role in the investigation.

John Balcerzak was a Milwaukee police officer
1
John Balcerzak was a Milwaukee police officerCredit: Wales News Service

Who is John Balcerzak?

According to , Balcerzak was one of two officers who handed over a naked, bleeding 14-year-old boy to Dahmer.

They handed him over despite the objection of Dahmer's neighbor Glenda Cleveland and other women as the scene.

That action led to the men being dubbed "Dahmer cops".

READ MORE ON CRIME

Dahmer murdered and dismembered 17 males over a 13-year period before he was apprehended by authorities.

He would keep body parts as souvenirs, including skulls and genitals.

After committing the grisly slayings he was arrested by Milwaukee police officers on July 22, 1991. 

What happened in the Konerak Sinthasomphone incident?

Konerak Sinthasomphone was the 14-year-old who managed to escape from Dahmer's apartment.

He was naked, bruised, bleeding and was heavily under the influence of drugs, according to the .

Three women Sandra Smith, Tina Spivey and Nicole Childress discovered Konerak and called police.

Balcerzak and Gabrish responded to the call.

Despite the pleas of all three women, Konerak was handed back to Dahmer, who convinced police he was his 19-year-old lover, according to the Tribune.

The men listed the incident as a "domestic squabble between homosexuals" and left Dahmer's home shortly after.

An hour after leaving, Dahmer murdered Konerak.

Where is John Balcerzak now?

Despite this controversy, the men enjoyed a long career with Wisconsin law enforcement.

According to the , the two officers were fired by the police chief, Philip Arreola, but a court order reinstated them.

Meanwhil, Dahmer was killed by fellow Columbia Correctional Institution inmate Christopher Scarver on November 28, 1994.

Scarver also beat inmate Jesse Anderson to death during the assault.

“He crossed the line with some people - prisoners, prison staff," Scarver told the  in 2015, referring to Dahmer.

"Some people who are in prison are repentant - but he was not one of them.”

Scarver told the newspaper that Dahmer would make severed limbs out of prison food to provoke other inmates.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Read More on The Sun

Dahmer would also add packets of ketchup to use as blood, he said.

He added that “I saw heated interactions between [Dahmer] and other prisoners from time to time."

Topics