Listen: 911 Call From Samantha Harer Gunshot Death

CREST HILL, IL - The city of Crest Hill is not ready to bring Officer Phil Flores back to regular work even though Channahon's Police Department announced on Dec. 28 that the death of Flores' girlfriend Samantha Harer, 23, a 911 dispatcher for WESCOM, was being classified as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Flores was inside in her small apartment at the time the gun went off.

That Tuesday morning, Feb. 13, 2018, Flores called 911, telling dispatchers that the two of them were in an argument and that Harer subsequently locked herself behind a door and that he heard a gun went off. In the 911 call, Florer is heard telling dispatchers that performing CPR would be of no use because he could see brain matter sprayed in the room.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m. Channahon ambulance crews arrived at the Bridge Street apartments and transported her to St. Joe's Hospital in Joliet where she was pronounced dead.

Late last summer, Joliet Patch filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Channahon Police seeking access to the 911 call made by Flores. However, Channahon Police denied Patch's records request at the time, stating that her death was still under investigation.

Now that Channahon and the Will County Coroner's Office of Patrick O'Neil have determined that Harer's death is being ruled as a suicide, Patch filed a new Freedom of Information Act request seeking access to the 911 call last week.

On Thursday morning, an attorney representing the WESCOM dispatch center in Plainfield, which is also where Harer was employed, provided Patch access to the 911 call.

WARNING: This 911 call made on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018 by Crest Hill Officer Phil Flores from inside the Channahon apartment of his girlfriend, Samantha Harer, 23, may be disturbing to some listeners and contains profanity.

Meanwhile, Patch has filed additional Freedom of Information Act requests to the Channahon Police Department seeking access to the reports generated as part of the death probe as well as a separate FOIA to the Will County Coroner's Office seeking access to the autopsy, pathology and toxicology reports.

Both agencies responded to Patch this week seeking a time extension on responding to the respective FOIAs.

Related: Samantha Harer Died During Domestic: Newspaper

On Tuesday afternoon, Crest Hill Police Chief Ed Clark told Joliet Patch during a phone interview that Flores still remains on paid leave and that he has not returned to administrative office duty as the Dec. 28 press release indicated would happen. He has been on paid leave since Feb. 13, the day his girlfriend died under suspicious circumstances.

Clark said that his internal affairs investigation is already underway to determine whether Flores violated any policies and procedures in connection with the incident, such as conducting unbecoming an officer, for instance.

Clark also said Flores will be required to undergo a mental health fitness examination before he is cleared to return to work.

"He has to be evaluated by a doctor," Clark told Patch. "I'm very cognizant of the situation."

At this point, Clark said he did not want to guess on a time frame for whether Flores will be back on the job fulfilling an office duty assignment.

If Flores does get cleared by the internal affairs probe and the mental health fitness examination, he would initially report to the department and mainly work in an office capacity setting, Clark said.

As of now, Crest Hill has no plans to return Flores to his previous assignment as a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. patrolman, Clark indicated.

"He would not be on the street at this point," Clark said.

Image of Phil Flores and Samantha Harer provided to Patch with permission to use