A Joliet police officer who was under investigation by an outside firm has been recommended for termination.

Officer Nicholas Crowley was recommended for termination on Monday, according to Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English, the police department’s spokesman.

“As this is a personnel issue, I am unable to share any further details,” English said.

Since Feb. 4, Crowley had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by an outside firm. That firm has not been disclosed.

In 2017, Shaw Local reported Crowley was suspended for five days after internal affairs found that he violated department policy by posing in uniform and brandishing his on-duty firearm in a Snapchat photo.

Crowley has been named as a defendant in 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.