A Joliet police officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation being conducted by an outside firm.

Officer Nicholas Crowley’s paid administrative leave was effective Feb. 4, said Sgt. Dwayne English, the spokesman for the Joliet Police Department.

English said he is unable to provide further information at this time.

Crowley has been named as a defendant in at least three lawsuits filed since 2018. He also had been arrested in 2017 but was acquitted of reckless discharge of a firearm charge in a bench trial the following year.

In one lawsuit, Crowley was accused of using excessive force and it led to an almost $120,000 settlement with the city.

The two other lawsuits against Crowley that concerned allegations of false arrest and excessive force led to a total of $80,200 in settlements.

In 2023, Crowley had been recommended for suspension for communicating with a citizen in an unprofessional manner, city records show.

Crowley was accused of engaging in “unprofessional and inappropriate text message communication” with a victim of a crime, according to a report filed with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.