$425,000 Settlement After Crest Hill Police Sgt. Kills Matt Parks

CREST HILL — Before a wrongful death lawsuit was even filed against Crest Hill's Police Department, Crest Hill has agreed to pay out $425,000 to Jasmine Coleman, the young widow and mother of four children to Matthew Parks.

On March 14, 2022, the 30-year-old Parks was fatally shot inside his apartment by Crest Hill Police Sergeant Terry Fenoglio, who also shot and seriously injured fellow Police Officer Ryan Tetlow.

Since 2022, Joliet Patch has produced several exclusive articles on Fenoglio's questionable shootings, revealing that fellow Crest Hill Police Sgt. David Reavis was responsible for spreading false information regarding the details of the deadly shooting at the apartment complex on Pioneer Road.

On the night of the shooting, officials said that Parks had stabbed Officer Tetlow in the leg with a knife, prompting Fenoglio to return gunfire, killing Parks, even though that was not true, and Crest Hill police knew it was not true.

As for Sgt. Fenoglio, he refused to be interviewed by the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force about his decision to shoot Parks and how Tetlow was shot.

Tetlow's gunshot injuries were severe — he almost died from loss of blood to his leg — and he has not returned to active duty for the Crest Hill police force over the past two years.

As part of the $425,000 payment to Parks' widow and her lawyer, attorney John Schrock of Plainfield, the settlement requires Schrock and Jasmine Coleman not to participate in any news media interviews to discuss their case. Joliet Patch discovered the $425,000 settlement last week after reviewing probate files at Will County's Courthouse.

At the time of his death, Parks was unemployed, the motion to approve the settlement and distribution of settlement funds informs the court.

"Jasmine Coleman ... and John V. Schrock hereby agree and warrant that they will not discuss, publicize or otherwise make any comment regarding the settlement agreement to any third-party, including the media and that if approached by a member of the media for an interview, the undersigned plaintiff and plaintiff's counsel hereby agree to state only that the matter was resolved by a settlement agreement and offer no further comment on the matter," court documents show.

Joliet Patch reached out to Crest Hill Police Chief Ed Clark for comment, and he issued the following statement over the weekend:

"Jasmine Coleman’s claim against the City of Crest Hill and Sgt. Terry Fenoglio is in the process of being resolved via settlement reached between the City’s insurer and Ms. Coleman and the Estate of Matthew Parks, to avoid the expense and costs associated with extended litigation," Clark said. "However, that settlement has not yet been finalized and approved.

"The City of Crest Hill and all involved officers have denied any wrongdoing associated with the incident. While this unfortunate situation resulted in Matthew Parks losing his life, the officers involved acted appropriately given the circumstances they encountered when responding to this domestic disturbance call for assistance. Following an extensive investigation by the Will Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, which was reviewed by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, Sgt. Terry Fenoglio was cleared of any criminal charges."

The Will County State's Attorney's Office, under Jim Glasgow, has made it a long-standing practice not to file criminal charges against a police officer in Will County in connection with an on-duty shooting.

In the case of Parks, Glasgow agreed to clear Fenoglio of criminal wrongdoing even though Fenoglio invoked his 5th Amendment Rights against self-incrimination, and chose not to be interviewed by the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force as part of its criminal probe.

Fenoglio was represented by Bolingbrook attorney John Gaw, a Bolingbrook lawyer for the Metropolitan Alliance of Police, which represents Crest Hill's police union.

On Sunday, Joliet Patch contacted Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Jungles, who previously served as chairman of the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, inquiring whether Sgt. Fenoglio was the only officer he could recall who chose not to give an interview to the task force in connection with a police officer involved shooting incident?

"No, most officers that are represented by the MAP union never provide statements regarding their involvement in an officer involved shooting," Jungles responded. "Those incidents that I can recall involve Bolingbrook and Crest Hill. There have been some instances where members of the FOP union have also declined to make comments."

In any event, "In addition to the task force investigation, a full internal investigation into the shooting of Matthew Parks by the Crest Hill Police Department and officer involved shooting board, which included an interrogation of Sgt. Fenoglio, resulted in a determination that Sgt. Fenoglio did not violate any Crest Hill Police Department policies," Clark's statement to Joliet Patch continued.

As for the Crest Hill officer injured by Sgt. Fenoglio's friendly fire, "Officer Ryan Tetlow has not returned to work as a Crest Hill Police Officer," Clark noted.

While Sgt. Fenoglio refused to be interviewed about his role in killing Parks and wounding Officer Tetlow, one of Crest Hill's other officers inside the apartment building, Officer Henry Tough, claimed Parks was wielding a knife.

Unlike the Joliet Police Department and the Will County Sheriff's Department, Crest Hill Police do not equip their officers with body-worn cameras. As a result, there is no video surrounding the details of Parks' death at the hands of Sgt. Fenoglio.

During an interview last year, the Plainfield lawyer for Jasmine Coleman told Patch that he questioned whether Parks even had a knife in his hand when Sgt. Fenoglio fired his gun, shooting and killing Parks, and shooting officer Tetlow in the leg.

"It was not a good shooting," Schrock told Joliet Patch in 2023. "I feel he should have been charged. He recklessly shot his fellow officer, and he also recklessly shot Matthew Parks."

During that 2023 interview with Joliet Patch's editor, Schrock acknowledged that Matthew Parks was mentally disturbed on the night of the 911 call that prompted several officers from Crest Hill police to respond to his apartment unit at the three-story apartment building, 1412 Pioneer Road, for the domestic disturbance.

"It was clear, he was talking about suicide by cop, but I saw no evidence of anyone trained in dealing with suicide by a cop or trying to talk him out of it," Schrock said of Crest Hill.

As for Fenoglio, he returned to active duty with Crest Hill's Police Department last July.

In the immediate aftermath of the deadly shooting, the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force issued the following press release — which contained erroneous information about the death of Parks in an apparent effort to portray Fenoglio and Tough as heroic figures and Parks as trying to kill the Crest Hill police officers.

"During the confrontation, Parks stabbed a Crest Hill Police Officer in the leg, with a knife. This officer has been with the Crest Hill Police Department since September of 2019. It is believed that the knife cut the femoral artery of this responding officer’s leg. A Sergeant with the Crest Hill Police Department shot the suspect several times in defense of the injured officer’s life. This Sergeant has been with the Crest Hill Police Department since September of 2004. Responding officers performed life saving measures on Parks, but he succumbed to his injuries on scene.

"In addition, another responding officer performed life-saving measures by applying a tourniquet to the leg of the officer down in order to control the bleeding. This officer has been with the Crest Hill Police Department since February of 2007," the press release read.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Friendly Fire Injured Crest Hill Cop, Suspect Never Stabbed Him: Ferak

Police 'Didn't Need To Use Excessive Force,' Crest Hill Mom Says

False Crest Hill Police Shooting Story Revealed, Sgt. Back On Job

Crest Hill Police Sergeant Faces Domestic Battery Charges