Flock Camera Firing At Joliet PD: City Hall Won't Produce Lt. Jeremy Harrison Termination Tapes, Lawyer Says

JOLIET, IL — The process of terminating long-time Joliet Police Department lieutenant Jeremy Harrison that began last December has dragged on, and it seems unlikely that a final decision on Harrison's job status will be resolved anytime soon.

Efforts to terminate Harrison came as a result of allegations he misused the Joliet Police Department's Flock license plate reader system for personal reasons.

This summer, a number of people have reached out to Joliet Patch seeking an update on the status of Harrison's termination. On Thursday morning, Joliet City Hall officials acknowledged there is really nothing of significance to reveal.

"Attorneys are still reviewing materials. There are no updates on any further hearings scheduled at this time," responded Sydney Thompson, Joliet's director of media engagement.

Harrison Goes On Leave In July 2025

Joliet Patch previously reported that Harrison was put on paid leave from the Joliet Police Department in late July of 2025. Then, in late December, Police Chief Bill Evans announced his decision to fire Harrison from the agency, who has been a member of the Joliet police force for 26 years.

Harrison and his lawyer Michael Ettinger appealed the termination, and a final decision must be made by the city's police and fire board, a five-member panel made up of appointments recommended by Mayor D'Arcy.

The five to decide Harrison's employment future are Natalie Coleman, Tom Ponce, Pat Strocchia, Quinn Adamowski and John Stefanski.

According to the Joliet Police chief's termination notice, in July 2025, "Lieutenant Harrison accessed the Joliet Police Department's Automatic License Plate Reader Database, known as 'Flock,' for a purpose not associated with law enforcement activities, but for personal purposes to track the location of a female officer.

"Specifically, Lieutenant Harrison accessed the Flock system on approximately eight occasions on or around July 2025 to search the personal license plate of a Joliet Police Officer ... and he conducted approximately 153 searches for (the female officer's) license plate. At the time of Lieutenant Harrison's Flock searches, the Joliet Police Department was not conducting any active police investigations into (the officer) and her vehicle was not associated with any active investigations."

Separately, the chief of police recommended Harrison's termination for additional violations of Joliet police's general conduct guidelines.

"On or about July 2025, Lieutenant Harrison entered false information into the Flock system to conduct the searches of (the officer's) ... license plate. Specifically, on various occurrences on or around July 2025, Lieutenant Harrison selected the reasons for the search in the Flock system as 'wanted,' 'stolen' and/or 'reckless,' or words to similar effect, when those selections were not the truthful and/or accurate reason for his searches of (the officer's) license plate. At the time of Lieutenant Harrison's Flock searches, the Joliet Police Department was not conducting any active police investigations into (the officer) ... and her vehicle was not associated with any active investigations.

"Based on the foregoing charges and specifications, the Chief of Police has terminated Lieutenant Harrison's employment with the Joliet Police Department," the Dec. 22 internal affairs memo furnished to Harrison reads.

During an interview in May, Ettinger, Harrison's lawyer, told Joliet Patch, "I don't think he violated any rules."

"There Is Something Wrong With Those Tapes:" Ettinger

On Thursday morning, Ettinger did a phone interview with Joliet Patch's editor revealing how the city of Joliet may have encountered major problems with how they conducted and retained information from Harrison's closed-door City Hall termination proceedings back in mid-May.

"There is something wrong with the tapes," Ettinger shared during Thursday's interview.

Ettinger said it is par for the course to use a professional court reporter to transcribe disciplinary proceedings involving public-sector employees in Illinois, but in Harrison's case, Joliet's outside lawyer, Kelly Coyle of the Rosemont-based Clark Baird Smith labor relations law firm, chose to have someone use a tape recorder.

"In the rules, they basically have to have a court reporter," Ettinger explained. "When we finished, the city's attorney wanted written simultaneous closing arguments, which I objected to, because it's a violation of the 14th Amendment. It's unconstitutional, and the 14th Amendment applies to police and fire commission hearings."

In any event, in preparing to submit his closing arguments in writing, Ettinger said he later learned of potential problems with the tape-recording device used by the city of Joliet for Harrison's termination and "that there is a quirk with the transcripts. The person who was supposed to send them to a court reporter didn't do it and there's something wrong with the tapes and she won't give them to us," Ettinger said.

"Ninety days, John, to get the tapes. We're now at 90 days, and we still don't have the transcripts."

Ettinger said the overall proceedings have gone very well for Harrison, who made a point of testifying before the police and fire commission.

"We feel the evidence went great for us and the complaining witness they didn't even put her on. The chief didn't interview her. The investigating attorney interviewed the alleged complaining witness, and the chief never did" Ettinger remarked on Thursday morning.

In regard to the Flock camera license plate system, Ettinger had this to say of Harrison during a Joliet Patch interview back in May: "Did he improperly use the Flock camera system? And the answer is 'No.' He did it for proper purposes and that will be our defense."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

• JPD Lt. Harrison's 2018 Crash: No Discipline, No Reports
• Eric Lurry Decision: Judge Rules On Federal Lawsuit Against 4 Joliet Police Officials
• Lt. Jeremy Harrison's Off-Duty Crash 'All Covered Up:' Source