Samantha Harer Case: Key Lawsuit Hearing Nears

CHANNAHON, IL — For the first time in months, a lawsuit filed by the parents of deceased 911 emergency dispatcher Samantha Harer will go before a federal appeals court for a decision that will impact the future of the case. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago will hold a Zoom video hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 26.

The lawyers for both sides will each get 15 minutes to make their oral arguments to the federal appeals judges. The Joliet law firm of Mahoney, Silverman and Cross wants the judges to dismiss Channahon, Channahon's Police Chief Shane Casey, Deputy Chief Adam Bogart and Detective Andrew McClellan from the police misconduct and deprivation of civil rights lawsuit filed by Brooklyn, N.Y. attorney Jennifer Bonjean.

She is representing Samantha Harer's parents, Kevin and Heather.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman rejected legal arguments raised by Channahon's municipal law firm that has been trying to get its clients dismissed from the lawsuit.

On Feb. 13, 2018, Harer was found nude in her bedroom with a single gunshot through her head. Off-duty Crest Hill Police Officer Felipe "Phil" Flores, Harer's estranged boyfriend, called 911 claiming Harer had locked herself in her bedroom during an argument and shot herself.

Gunshot residue tests analyzed by the Illinois State Crime Laboratory in Chicago found no gunshot residue on Harer's hands. The forensic scientist found several traces of gunshot residue on Flores' right hand as well as blood spatter and gunshot residue on Flores' black sweatshirt.

Months later, on Dec. 28, 2018, Channahon's deputy police chief issued a news release indicating that Harer had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head and her death was being ruled a suicide.

Bonjean has repeatedly referred to the Channahon Police Department's 2018 death investigation as "a sham investigation" in her legal briefs.

She argues Bogart, Casey and McClellan are responsible for covering up a homicide because they did not want to tarnish the reputation of another local police department.

In addition to Channahon, the Harers' lawsuit names the Crest Hill Police Department and Flores as co-defendants.

Bonjean said that Channahon police once told Harer's parents that gunshot residue was found on their daughter's hands, while Flores' tests were negative even though the opposite was true.

Channahon "also hid from them very incriminating evidence before the case dismissed," Bonjean said. "They didn't tell them of third party witnesses who heard that there was a struggle."

Bonjean said there are multiple people who lived at the apartment complex who heard a loud struggle coming from inside Harer's bedroom around the time of the deadly shooting. Harer was fatally shot around 8:15 a.m. on a Tuesday morning.

Flores had stayed at her apartment since arriving there between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. the previous afternoon.

He told police that he slept on her living room couch and had possession of cell phone on the night before she died, investigative reports show.

According to the investigation, Flores "stated today when Samantha woke up she asked for her cell phone. He gave her her cell phone. She then laid back down. (Flores) stated Samantha had a very upset look on her face. He questioned Samantha in reference to doing something with him today. Samantha replied by telling (Flores) to 'leave me alone' and that she just wanted to be left alone. (Flores) stated this was between 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m."

Bonjean contends that Channahon's chief, deputy chief and lead investigator "were part of a rubber-stamp investigation."

"But that does not change my belief that Phil Flores is responsible for Samantha's death," Bonjean said. "How it precisely happened, we are anxious to discover."

The Harer family lawyer said it's critical for Channahon's three top police officials to remain a key component of her civil rights lawsuit alleging police misconduct.

"They covered up misconduct of a fellow officer because police departments circle the wagons when it comes to police officer misconduct," Bonjean told Patch last week. "That's essentially the blue code of silence. My clients are entitled to relief because Channahon has just obstructed their effort to learn the truth about Samantha's death."

In March 2019, Flores resigned from Crest Hill in the middle of an internal affairs investigation surrounding Harer's death. Crest Hill Police had put Flores on paid suspension immediately after Harer's death and kept him on paid leave for more than a year, until he abruptly resigned.

In 2016, Flores was investigated by the Illinois State Police in connection with allegations he raped a sleeping woman at her house in Crest Hill. Flores and the woman had been friends, but were not romantically involved. Flores drew a 30-day unpaid work suspension as a result of the rape allegations, but the Will County State's Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges.

Joliet civil attorney Jim Murphy of Mahoney, Silverman & Cross has served as the lead counsel for Channahon and its three top police officials named in the Harer lawsuit.

Murphy told Patch last week that there have been several rulings out of Chicago's U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit that make him believe Channahon will prevail when he argues his case in front of the federal appeals judges May 26.

Murphy told Patch the investigation into Harer's death was not just done by Channahon, rather it involved investigators from numerous police departments including Joliet, Will County Sheriff's Office, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Shorewood and the Illinois State Police.

On the morning of the shooting, Channahon police summoned the Will-Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force, Murphy said.

"There was an exhaustive investigation that was done," Murphy said. "It was the Will-Grundy Task Force ... we identified over 100 witnesses that have information and a number of police officers were involved in the investigation.

"I believe it was extensive, and I think the task force is not usually called out for suicides. This was treated as a potential homicide from the very beginning."

Murphy maintains there is no legitimate legal basis for keeping Channahon, Casey, Bogart and McClellan as co-defendants.

"It's the kind of case we don't believe should exist," Murphy told Patch last week.

"Our argument, we're saying there is no Constitutional violation, because they still have a case against Flores and that is still pending," Murphy said of his clients' actions during the 2018 death investigation of the off-duty 911 dispatcher.

Murphy said it often takes about 90 days before Chicago's federal appeals court issues a ruling, but sometimes, it's much shorter and sometimes it can take up to a year.

When Patch asked Murphy if Channahon will prevail after the May 26 hearing and get dismissed from the Harer's lawsuit, he answered yes.

"I feel good about it, but you never know what the court is going to do," he said. "Anything can happen."

Related Samantha Harer Coverage:

Samantha Harer: Federal Judge Issues Key Ruling For Plaintiff

Channahon Suffers 2019 Defeat In Harer Lawsuit Ruling

Phil Flores Broke Into Harer's Apartment To Snoop: IA Probe