Ex-Joliet police sergeant who leaked video of in-custody death alleges retaliation in lawsuit
JOLIET, Ill. - A former Joliet police sergeant claims in a new lawsuit that he faced retaliation for leaking video of the death of a man in police custody back in 2020.
Javier Esqueda, who at one time faced criminal charges for the leak, said in the federal lawsuit that he was "maliciously prosecuted" for exposing "police misconduct."
The backstory:
Back in January 2020, a 37-year-old man named Eric Lurry died while riding in a Joliet police car after being arrested at the scene of an alleged drug deal. The Will County Coroner’s Office ruled that Lurry died from an accidental drug overdose after ingesting heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine.
An arresting officer suspected that Lurry had put drugs in his mouth, but he was not searched or forced to spit them out, according to the lawsuit. He was left handcuffed in the backseat of the squad car for about four-and-a-half minutes. Lurry began chewing on what was in his mouth and eventually lost consciousness and slumped over.
Despite that, the officers did not immediately call for medical assistance. Instead, two officers tried to get the bag out of Lurry’s mouth. One of them pinched Lurry’s nose to get him to open his mouth and struck Lurry in the face with his hand while shouting "Wake up, b****!" – according to the lawsuit.
Later that year, Esqueda learned from fellow officers about a "very disturbing" video of Lurry’s death and that there had been no internal investigation into the conduct of the officers involved, according to the lawsuit. As a part of his duties, Esqueda was responsible for reviewing reports to evaluate the performance of newer officers and also had access to body camera and squad video.
Esqueda said he accessed the video of Lurry’s death, was "shocked" by what he saw, and thought it depicted police misconduct.
According to the lawsuit, that June, Esqueda tried to tell a police captain about what he saw in the video, but that captain cut him off and said, "shut the f*** up, don’t say another word," and told him to write a memorandum about the incident and make it "short and brief."
Other Joliet city officials, including the then-mayor and members of the City Council, were able to view the video that June, and the next month, it was shown to select pastors from the area. But Esqueda claimed the version shown to pastors was "doctored" and that the audio was muted.
Esqueda said he believed that the police department was misleading the public about Lurry’s death and that it "was going to be covered up."
Esqueda said in the lawsuit that he knew if he leaked the video, that would "expose him to retaliation from his fellow officers," and so he got a lawyer. That July, he gave a copy of the video to a local television reporter.
Days after the video was published, Esqueda was told to do administrative duties and to "refrain from any kind of police work," according to the lawsuit. He was later reassigned to answer phones with the traffic unit.
Then in October 2020, Esqueda was charged with four felony counts of official misconduct and arrested in nearby Kendall County.
Former Joliet Police Sgt. Javier Esqueda | Joliet Police Department
Esqueda resigned from the department in 2022.
Then, in late 2024, the charges against Esqueda were dismissed.
What they're saying:
FOX 32 reached out to the City of Joliet for comment on the lawsuit, and a spokesperson responded saying, "The city is unable to comment on pending litigation."