Northern Illinois U. police chief fired

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DEKALB, Ill., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A lawyer for Donald Grady, fired as Northern Illinois University's police chief for his handling of a rape case involving an officer, says he will appeal.

Grady was dismissed Tuesday, three months after he was suspended amidst questions about the rape case, the Chicago Tribune reported. The charges against officer Andrew Rivkin were dropped after a DeKalb County judge found another officer withheld exculpatory evidence.

Rivkin has sued Grady and the university, saying the investigation was bungled.

"The allegations against Chief Grady are baseless and we will be able to prove that," Michael Fox, Grady's lawyer, said. "I believe there may be other motives in operation here in regards to Chief Grady's dismissal, and we will also be doing whatever we can do to demonstrate that as we go forward."

Grady has headed the campus police force since 2001. In 2008, after a graduate student killed five people before taking his own life, Grady was praised for his handling of the shooting spree, but he has also been criticized for failing to provide information about investigations.