Death In Joliet Police Custody: No Answers, 5 Months Later

JOLIET, IL — Four months before the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis mobilized people across the nation to participate in Black Lives Matter demonstrations, 37-year-old Joliet resident Eric Lurry died after being in the custody of the Joliet Police Department and questions remain about the circumstances of his death.

After Lurry was arrested near Briggs Street and Washington Streets, a Joliet patrol officer delivered the Joliet drug suspect to the downtown Joliet Police Station, and that's where his life ended. Joliet police issued a statement on Jan. 29 indicating that Lurry had ingested a bag of cocaine while on the Joliet Police Department property.

Joliet Patch recently became aware of the existence of a Joliet Police Department videotape that captured the several-minute-long incident. The video reportedly shows several Joliet police supervisors in Lurry's presence at the time he lapsed out of consciousness as he died.

The incident surrounding Lurry's death happened mid-afternoon on Jan. 28 - that's more than five months ago. "Eric embodied the definition of what it means to be a good man. Eric had a charisma that gravitated everyone’s attention in any room when he walked in. He had a smile that could light up any room. Eric’s sense of belonging spoke volumes. He loved his wife and his family with complete humility," his obituary from Minor-Morris Funeral Home reads.

To this day, the police investigation surrounding Lurry's death remains shrouded in mystery.

"It is still technically under investigation," Romeoville Police Chief Ken Kroll told me Monday. Kroll is one of the management supervisors of the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force.

Five months ago, Joliet Police Lt. Chris Botzum issued a statement on behalf of his department that read in part: "The Major Crimes Task Force will be handling all of the media requests. Any updates released by the Joliet Police Department will come from the Major Crimes Task Force which we will post on our Facebook page."

On Monday, Kroll informed me that the Will County Coroner's Office of Patrick O'Neil and the staff of Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow still had a couple of questions they wanted the task force investigators "to run down and double-check."

"Until the State's Attorney renders their opinion, decision ... it's still an active investigation, so nothing has been released up to this point," Kroll said Monday.

A Lockport Police Department detective was put in charge of the Lurry case, Kroll noted. "So, right now, it's kind of in limbo, at least for a little bit," Kroll added.

A key question that needs to be answered by an objective, independent analysis, is whether Lurry's death was preventable? Did any supervisors at the Joliet Police Department restrict Lurry's breathing or did anyone fail to take life-saving measures?

In other words, should Lurry still be alive today after being arrested on a relatively minor drug charge?

As a refresher to readers, the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force is a consortium of police investigators and evidence technicians who work for other police departments in our area.

It's also important to remind readers that the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force had a key role working the early stages of the Feb. 13, 2018 death in Channahon of Samantha Harer, 23.

The off-duty 911 dispatcher died of a gunshot through her head in her apartment bedroom while she was nude. Her estranged boyfriend, a seven-year Crest Hill police officer at the time, was fully clothed at the time he called 911. He maintained that Harer shot herself while locked behind her bedroom door while he was in her living room that Tuesday morning around 8 a.m.

Even though gunshot residue was found on the hands and sweatshirt of the off-duty Crest Hill officer, Phil Flores, and none of the gunshot residue was found on Harer, the Channahon Police Department, with the backing of the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, concluded that Harer's death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

As for Flores, he did not face any criminal charges in connection with Harer's death. However, in wake of being fired, Flores abruptly resigned, in March 2019, after collecting 13 months of paid leave from his $80,000 a year patrol officer's position.

So, because of my experience covering the Harer case, I'm a little distrustful of the actions and impartiality of the Will-Grundy County Task Force as well as the Joliet Police Department's upper administration involving Police Chief Al Roechner.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that if the events leading up to Lurry's death on the Joliet police videotape are disturbing to viewers, there would be a natural tendency for the Joliet police administration as well as the Will-Grundy County Task Force to circle the wagons.

Given that the events involving Lurry's death were captured on Joliet police video and occurred on city property, officials involved in the Lurry probe should release the videotape and not six months from now.

It's time for our local police officials and politicians to step up to the plate and be transparent. If there's no wrongdoing, release the Lurry videotape for everyone to see.