DeKALB – Northern Illinois University Police Chief Donald Grady was fired Tuesday for his part in NIU police withholding evidence in a rape case against one of its officers.

Grady, who was lauded for his actions after the Feb. 14, 2008, shootings on the NIU campus, was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 10. That was one day after DeKalb County Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert ruled that Grady’s department purposefully withheld witness statements favorable to Andrew Rifkin, an NIU police officer accused of raping a student off-campus and off-duty.

Charges against Rifkin have since been dropped; Rifkin has filed suit against NIU, Grady, and three other NIU police officers who investigated his case.