Glasgow: Still No Decision On Charges In Sheriff's Deadly Shooting At Bank

JOLIET, IL — Even though many Illinois prosecutors and police departments are releasing video of shootings by police officers within a few months, State's Attorney Jim Glasgow remains opposed to releasing last May's bank surveillance video of Will County Sheriff's Lt. John Allen fatally shooting Gregory Walker as he exited the Fifth Third bank on Weber Road.

The case remains with Glasgow's office, and Will County's longest-serving state's attorney has yet to make a decision on whether to file charges against the Will County's sheriff SWAT team sniper or reach the conclusion that no crime occurred.

Last week, Illinois State Police spokeswoman Melaney Arnold notified Joliet Patch that her agency completed its investigation into the May 10, 2022, deadly shooting at the Romeoville bank many months ago.

Illinois State Police presented its case to Glasgow's staff last summer — July 18, 2022.

"Their review is active and ongoing. The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office has not authorized release of any video at this time," Arnold told Patch.

Arnold said the Illinois State Police "takes pride in being transparent, especially when it comes to officer-involved shootings, when the facts and circumstances surrounding an investigation allow for release of evidence prior to a final determination by the State’s Attorney’s Office. That is not the case in this investigation.

"Because the State’s Attorney is the top law enforcement official in their respective county, ISP defers to the reviewing State’s Attorney, so we do not compromise the State’s Attorney’s review of the investigation."

In February, Joliet Patch revealed that Walker's sister has filed a federal civil rights wrongful death lawsuit against Lt. Allen and Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley, who promoted Allen to a lieutenant just three months before the shooting happened.

"As our lawsuit alleges, Mr. Walker was a Black man shot dead by a white officer without any justification," plaintiff's lawyer Ian Barney informed Patch. "We believe the video will clearly prove this. I cannot speculate as to whether any party's refusal to share the video is motivated by fear of what will happen once it is released, but I do know that the public deserves to know the truth and every responsible party in this matter must be held accountable."

According to Barney's lawsuit, Walker was inside the Romeoville bank on May 10, 2022, and the Crest Hill man became upset and made complaints about the bank.

"Mr. Walker was initially armed with a firearm," Barney's lawsuit noted. However, "at no point did Mr. Walker threaten harm to another person."

Last week, Joliet Patch submitted several questions to attorney Carole Cheney, who serves as the spokeswoman for Glasgow's State's Attorney's Office.

One of Patch's questions asked, "Why hasn't the Will County State's Attorney's Office released any of the Romeoville bank surveillance videos and or any police body camera footage showing the public what happened? It's 10 months later."

"The review of this matter by the State’s Attorney’s Office is active and ongoing," Cheney responded. "The FOIA statute provides that disclosure is not required where it would 'interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency that is the recipient of the request.'"

According to Cheney, "The State’s Attorney’s Office appropriately releases information in a timely manner, which is determined by the interests of fairness and justice. We must always protect the rights of a defendant throughout the investigation, including before the grand jury and at trial, as fiercely as we do the rights of all crime victims and witnesses. Releasing information before the investigation and review of a matter is completed would hinder the ability of this Office to uncover information through interviews and other means without that information being tainted by public release of investigatory files — which here include the police body camera footage."

Patch asked if Glasgow and or his upper level staff of prosecutors are reluctant to bring charges against any on-duty police officer across Will County, regardless of the circumstances of the incident.

"The length of time it takes to make a charging decision is based on the complexity of the specific facts and circumstances involved in a particular case," Cheney answered. "Charging decisions regarding police officers are determined in the same way as charging decisions are made in every criminal case. This Office has prosecuted numerous police officers, including, most notably, the case against Bolingbrook Police Sergeant Drew Peterson. The investigation and prosecution of Peterson continued over five years, during which time the media continually cast doubt on the sufficiency of the evidence and the efficacy of the forfeiture by wrongdoing legislation drafted by State’s Attorney Glasgow.

"There are, however, instances in which it is necessary to bring in a special prosecutor because the police officer is a witness in a pending matter being prosecuted by the State’s Attorney’s Office. This is not a result of any 'reluctance' but rather to ensure the interest of justice is served for all parties involved."

Cheney indicated the prosecutor’s obligation is “to seek justice, not merely to convict.”

"That is why the State’s Attorney dismissed charges in two high-profile murder cases where the evidence against the defendants was determined not to be sufficient; in both cases, the actual murderer was later discovered and convicted," Cheney stated. "The duties and obligations of this Office to serve the interests of justice for all parties cannot be sacrificed for expediency in responding to media requests."

The two cases Cheney mentioned were the June 6, 2004, killing of Riley Fox, the little girl from Wilmington. When Jeff Tomczak was the Will County State's Attorney, Riley's father, Kevin Fox, was wrongly arrested and charged with killing his little girl. Almost a year later, Fox was freed from Will County's Jail, and his murder charges were dismissed.

On May 27, 2010, Glasgow filed first-degree murder charges against Scott Wayne Eby, who later pleaded guilty to killing Riley Fox. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The second case involved Barry McCarthy, according to Cheney.

Back in 1998, 43-year-old Juliet Chinn was stabbed to death in her Frankfort townhouse and investigators charged McCarthy, who found Chinn's body and called 911 on the day of her murder, according to Will County prosecutors. In 1999, Glasgow dismissed murder charges against McCarthy.

“I was deeply troubled by the conclusions drawn in the original blood-spatter analysis,” Glasgow said in 2007. “I felt it was appropriate to bring in a top expert in this forensic field to review the evidence. After extensive consultation with this expert and local investigators, I was convinced that I needed to drop the charges in the interest of justice.”

In 2007, Anthony Brescia, then 52, was sentenced to life in prison after being indicted in June 2006 for Chinn's murder.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Video Of Surrendering Man Killed By Will Co. Sniper Won't Be Released

Will Co. Sheriff's Sniper Killed Man, 65, Who Surrendered: Lawsuit