Samantha Harer Police Misconduct Trial May Go 6-8 Weeks

CHANNAHON, IL — On the day Samantha Harer died, Feb. 13, 2018, Channahon Police Detective Andrew McClellan began to make it clear to others that this was going to be treated as a suicide, not a homicide, court records indicate. Over in Crest Hill, the powers in charge of the Crest Hill Police Department decided to make Officer Felipe "Phil" Flores turn in his badge, his gun and his holster. Flores was being stripped of his police powers, after six years on the force.

Flores would never patrol the streets of Crest Hill again, not after the events of Feb. 13, 2018.

Crest Hill put Flores on paid suspension and allowed him to stay home for 13 months. This March, he resigned under pressure, rather than face being fired. Flores was inside his estranged girlfriend's apartment in Channahon during her violent death by a gunshot to her head, while she was in the nude, and he was dressed.

Flores maintained to 911 emergency dispatchers that Harer, who was a full-time 911 dispatcher herself, had locked herself in her bedroom, but he was unable to bust the door open in time to stop her from her shooting herself.

Channahon Police Chief Shane Casey and Deputy Chief Adam Bogart waited until after Christmas holidays to announce that Harer's death was officially being classified as a suicide, just as they had theorized all along. If Casey, Bogart and McClellan thought their Dec. 28, 2018 press release had brought an end of the case, they didn't see what was coming.

In January, a federal judge in Chicago allowed the parents of Samantha Harer to revive their previously dismissed lawsuit. The family retained Brooklyn, N.Y. civil rights lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, who grew up in Valparaiso and went to college and law school in Chicago.

In addition to reviving the lawsuit, Bonjean recently convinced the federal judge in Chicago to add Chief Casey, Deputy Chief Bogart and Detective McClellan as co-defendants.

Here's a synopsis of where things stand with the federal lawsuit, based on recent court filings:

What's the plaintiff's case about? "Plaintiff contends that the principal factual issues in the case relate to demonstrating that Defendant Flores intentionally shot Samantha Harer and that she did not take her ownlife; the Town of Channahon covered up Harer’s death as a suicide; DefendantCrest Hill knew that Defendant Flores was an alcoholic with a violent history againstwomen and protected him, including by covering-up a legitimate and credible claim ofsexual assault Flores in 2016; and Defendant Crest Hill’s protection of DefendantFlores was not unique or isolated and was a wide-spread practice in the department."

What do the plaintiffs want? "Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees against all defendants. Plaintiff seeks punitive damages against Defendant Felipe Flores. Plaintiffs request a trial by jury."

What's the Crest Hill defense's contention? "Defendant Flores denies Plaintiff’s allegations and specifically denies that he shot Samantha Harer and states that the principal factual issue is that Samantha committed suicide as found by the Will County Coroner as based on the investigation by the Will Grundy Major Crimes Task Force. Crest Hill denies all the allegations of wrongdoing against including ... allegations of a failure to train, supervise and/or discipline police officers, and of a code of silence or cover-up."

What's the Channahon defense's contention? "The Channahon Defendants deny all the allegations of wrongful conduct against them. The Channahon Defendants contend that the investigation into the death of Samantha Harer was conducted by the Will Grundy Major Crimes Task Force and involved 40 police officers and evidence technicians from over seven different police agencies. Channahon Defendants further contend that Plaintiffs have not been deprived of access to the courts as the result of the investigation but rather have received substantial information including, but not limited to: gunshot residue test results; blood spatter reports; witness statements; and incident scene photographs."

Why could the case take a long time to litigate? "Channahon Defendants have made an initial determination that there are potentially 85 witnesses involved in the case, including two plaintiffs, three individual defendants, two of plaintiffs’ attorneys; one of Channahon’s attorneys; three healthcare providers; four emergency medical responders; 40 police officers and evidence technicians involved in the investigation into Samantha Harer’s death; 17 neighbors of Samantha Harer who were interviewed in the investigation; and 13 other witnesses that knew Samantha Harer that were interviewed during the investigation."

When could the trial happen? "The earliest date the parties would be ready for trial is September of 2021. The probable length of trial is 6-8 weeks."

Why might the case not go to trial until 2021, or later? "Should this Court deny the individual Channahon Defendants their motion to dismiss, they are entitled to an immediate appeal based on the denial of qualified immunity. They would also be entitled to an appeal of a denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity ... Such appeals, if necessary, could significantly delay commencement of the trial."

What's next? "The parties have not had any settlement discussions. The parties do not consent to a magistrate judge. This matter is set for status conference on August 27, 2019 at 9 a.m., the principal trial attorney for each party, or an attorney with sufficient familiarity with and responsibility for the case, shall appear at that time prepared to discuss all aspects of the case."

Who's Who in the federal lawsuit?

Jennifer Bonjean and Ashley Cohen are the plaintiff's attorneys for Kevin and Heather Harer, the parents of Samantha Harer.

Lawyers Michael Bersani and G. David Mathues of the Itasca law firm Hervas, Condon & Bersani are representing defendant Felipe "Phil" Flores.

Lawyers James Murphy and Marron Mahoney of the Infantry Drive, Joliet law firm Mahoney, Silverman & Cross are defending the village of Channahon as well as Police Chief Casey, Deputy Chief Bogart and Detective McClellan.

Lawyers Michael Stiff and Jeffrey Taylor of the Black Road, Joliet law firm of Spesia & Taylor are defending the city of Crest Hill.

Who's the judge? Robert Gettleman of the U.S. District Court in Chicago. He was born in May of 1943. He has been on the federal bench since his appointment in October 1994.