Protesters At O'Dekirk's House Demand Resignation, Justice

JOLIET, IL - The crowd of two dozen stood silent in a circle for one minute and 46 seconds in rememberance of Eric Lurry. One minute and 46 seconds is the amount of time that Joliet Police Officer Doug May is show on video pinching Eric Lurry’s nose closed. The protest on Sunday afternoon in front of Mayor Bob O’Dekirk’s house was the third, but the most well attended.

A number of members of Lurry’s family were on hand as well as his wife Nicole Lurry, although she did not speak.

Some of Lurry’s family members had driven in from Columbus, Ohio and other protesters had driven in from neighboring communities. One such protester was Romeoville resident Michael Gutierrez.

“I’m here protesting Mayor Bob O’Dekirk, he has shown us again and again that he is unfit to serve as mayor,” Gutierrez said. “He needs to resign immediately.”

Gutierrez drove over from Romeoville because he believes that the issue is larger than just Joliet.

“This is still a local area for me,” he said. “The death of Eric Lurry was a tragedy, it hits real close to home.”

In weeks past when And JustUS 4 All has protested in front of the mayor’s house, the crowd was small and the focus was on calling for the mayor’s resignation based on the video from the May 31 protest in which O’Dekirk pulled a protestor down to the ground. That protester, Victor Williams and his brother Jamal Smith had their charged dropped in Will County Court on July 2.

This week was different. In the time since the last protest, the Joliet City Council, some Joliet community leaders and various members of the press have viewed a video leaked by Joliet Police Officer Javier Esqueda that shows the arrest of Lurry on Jan. 28. In that video, of which only portions have been broadcast, May calls Lurry a bitch, slaps him and holds his nose shut. The protest on Sunday called for O’Dekirk to take responsibility for what protesters say is his complacency in Lurry’s death.

“Bob O’Dekirk, we calling for your resignation, we calling for justice for BJ (Lurry), a transparent investigation and we demand that everyone involved be terminated, arrested and lose all benefits,” said Meshona Mitchell, Lurry's cousin.

When the moment of silence was over, Lurry’s great aunt Felicia Hinton emphasized to the crowd just how long one minute and 46 seconds is and how long it would be with someone’s hand around your neck or pinching your nose closed.

“Police are supposed to protect us and they killing us,” she said. “Let the judicial system try him and not the police.”

In a later conversation, Hinton emphasized that the Joliet Police Department should have body cams. “If they wear body cams and they can’t turn them off, they are accountable,” she said.

In the longer video of the arrest of Lurry, the sound that had been running in the dash cam of the Joliet Police Department car suddenly turns off, a question Joliet Police Department Deputy Chief Darrell Gavin told reporters usually happens when police arrive at the station, but should not have happened because Lurry was having a medical emergency.

“We teach our officers, once he gets to the station, our camera’s automatically upload anything to our servers here at the station,” Gavin said at the press conference on July 3. “Officers are typically told to then turn off the mic.

“Obviously is turning off the mic criminal? No, but there could be some police violations depending on what (the officer) says.”

Gavin said that will come out in the Joliet Police Department internal investigation which was started on July 3.

“I don’t know who had control of the camera and the mic that will come out and come into play in the internal process and then we will find that out,” Gavin said.

The protest on Sunday had some tense moments. First, a Joliet Police Department sergeant walked over to address the crowd after a neighbor had complained about the noise level. Protesters objected, highlighting their right to peaceful protest.

Loretta Hobbs, one of the founders of And JustUS 4 All, suggested that the sergeant call the Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner to the scene. The chief was not present Sunday and did not come after the exchange and the officers remained across the street for the rest of the protest.

And JustUS 4 All was founded by Hobbs, Bernell Simmons, Steven Newell and Toni Lashal. All but Newell were in attendance on Sunday.

Shortly after that exchange, one protestor engaged with a neighbor, telling her to shut up.

That neighbor’s husband said he does not disagree with the protests, but did not appreciate that exchange.

“I have absolutely nobody in my house who has a problem with what the protesters are protesting against," Matt Hagberg said. “What I have a problem with is when I am sitting, and we are on our property minding our own business and we are called out.”

The remaining protesters gathered around the demonstrator who had shouted and deescalated the incident, something the neighbor admitted he did not see happen.

The protests in front of O’Dekirk’s house will continue and Hobbs has said will not stop until O’Dekirk resigns or is charged.

Hinton stressed that the protests cannot stop with her nephew.

“We’re not gonna stop until somebody throws dirt over us and then our kids better carry it on,” she said. “Until dirt is thrown over us and you know when dirt throwed over us, that means we are dead.

“Until that day, I’m teaching my kids, you stand on it because even if it don’t happen for you, it’s gonna happen for somebody.”

The protest ended around 1 p.m. And JustUS 4 All has planned another protest from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at O'Dekirk's office, 150 W. Jefferson on July 12.