The Resume

John Balcerzak (born April 13th 1957)
Joseph Gabrish (born December 28, 1962)
Milwaukee police officers
Responded to a 911 call reporting finding 14 year-old Jeffrey Dahmer victim Konerak Sinthasomphone on the streets, naked and barely cognizant, in the early morning hours (May 27, 1991)
Suspended with pay and later fired from the Milwaukee Police Department due to their mishandling of the incident (September 1991)
Known as ‘The Dahmer Cops’

Why they might be annoying:

They rudely dismissed the concerns of the three black women who placed the initial 911 call.
They also waved off paramedics on the scene who wanted to treat the victim, despite his being bruised, bloody, and clearly under the influence of drugs.
They were gullible in believing Dahmer’s version of events - that the victim was 19, that he was just drunk, and that they were in a consensual relationship (in actuality, he was making a weak attempt to escape the apartment while drugged).
If they had run a check on Dahmer, they would have known he was a registered sex offender who had been convicted of child molestation in 1988 (of the victim’s brother no less).
They accompanied Dahmer and the victim back to his apartment and shockingly didn’t pick up on anything unusual other than a strange-smelling odor (later determined to have been from another victim’s rotting corpse).
They handed the victim back to Dahmer - who proceeded to strangle him to death within the hour and then dismember the corpse. Three months later, he would be arrested and charged.
Audio was later made public of the two laughing about having ‘reunited the lovers’ after officially listing the case as a ‘domestic squabble between homosexuals.’
Their handling of the case was seen as reflective of the growing racial tensions and police corruption in Milwaukee.
They were initially placed on paid suspension, but the backlash was so intense they were later fired. A third officer involved (Richard Porubcan) was put on job probation for one year.
They both testified at Dahmer’s 1992 trial, and tried to defend themselves with lines like: ‘He was clean shaven, clean dressed and his clothes were not in disarray’ and ‘he was polite and gave us no reason to suspect anything of him at all’ (talk about giving the Keystone Kops a run for their money).

Why they might not be annoying:

They apparently bought into Dahmer’s story because he was able to produce Polaroid photos of Konerak Sinthasomphone consensually posing semi-nude the day prior (which was how Dahmer was able to lure him into the apartment in the first place).
Both officers appealed their termination and were controversially reinstated with back pay (June 1994).
The city of Milwaukee paid the family of Knoerak Sinthasomphone $850,000 to settle a lawsuit over their mishandling of the case (1995).
Balcerzak served as president of the Milwaukee Police Association (the police union for Milwaukee officers) from 2005 to 2009.
Garish later became a Captain and Interim Chief in a Suburban Police Department.
Both are now retired and probably struggle with the Dahmer incident on their consciences.

Credit: BoyWithTheGreenHair

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• BoyWiththeGreenHair’s Profiles [Series 27]
• Dim Bulbs
• Dual Profiles
• I am Disliked by Gays
• I Made a Biased Comment in Public [Some Alleged]
• Mustaches
• People with John or Mary in their Names
• Police Officers
• Profiles 58251-58500 (Ranked: 58451)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying