Sheriff Mark Curran Subpoenaed by Lake County Coroner

Waukegan, IL - On October 3rd, Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper formally demanded that Sheriff Mark Curran produce any and all footage from body worn cameras, hallway cameras, and jail unit logs from Sept. 19th, 2018, when Edward Robinson, III died in the Lake County Jail. Dr. Cooper was forced to send a subpoena to Sheriff Curran because Curran refused to release that critical footage.

Dr. Cooper demanded by legal order that Sheriff Curran release the footage and logs to him, that would show what they saw when they looked into Robinson’s cell between 10 a.m. and noon on September 19. The video footage that was already released by the Sheriff’s Office only shows employees peering into Robinson’s cell but making no effort to get him medical attention.

“During Mark Curran’s recent press conference about the incident, he pledged to be ‘transparent’ about the investigation into this latest death. I have to wonder what the sheriff is hiding if he has to be forced by subpoena to reveal this information,” said John Idleburg, Democratic candidate for Lake County Sheriff. “Mark Curran is once again obscuring the facts of this case, probably in order to avoid another multi-million dollar lawsuit under his watch.”

Sheriff Curran was ordered to release the footage and other materials within 14 days of the day of the subpoena, which is by end of the day Wednesday October 17.

“It is astounding that it took a subpoena for Sheriff Curran to be forced to release this information,” said Idleburg. “The Coroner must have this video footage in order to fulfill his duty to completely investigate this death. The current sheriff, Mark Curran, isn’t doing the job. I will.”

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