Glasgow Taking 17 Months To Decide Will Co. Sniper Bank Shooting

JOLIET, IL — A federal civil rights lawsuit brought against Will County Sheriff's lieutenant and SWAT unit sniper John Allen has remained on hold for seven months because the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has not decided whether to file charges, but that decision should happen in October, newly filed court records reflect.

Back in February, Joliet Patch broke the news of Evanston attorney Ian Barney's lawsuit against the Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley and Lt. Allen in connection with the May 10, 2022, deadly Romeoville bank shooting of Gregory Walker, a 65-year-old Black man from Crest Hill.

According to Barney's lawsuit, Walker was inside the Romeoville bank and he became upset and made complaints about the bank. That afternoon, after the SWAT unit was called to the Fifth Third bank, Walker emerged from the bank holding his hands in the air to surrender, according to the plaintiff's attorney.

Although several SWAT members were positioned with loaded guns outside the Fifth Third bank's perimeter, only Lt. Allen fired his rifle. He shot Walker in the chest, killing him.

"Mr. Walker was initially armed with a firearm," Barney's lawsuit from February noted. However, "at no point did Mr. Walker threaten harm to another person. Mr. Walker was not in possession of a firearm at the time he was shot by Deputy John Allen. Deputy John Allen shot Mr. Walker despite that Mr. Walker was unarmed and posed no threat to any other person," the lawsuit noted.

Romeoville's Police Department did not explain at the time of Walker's death why the Will County Sheriff's sniper fired his rifle and took Walker's life.

The events surrounding Walker's death were subsequently investigated by the Illinois State Police, rather than the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force.

On Wednesday, three sets of lawyers submitted a four-page status update for the federal judge presiding over the civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Walker's sister, Brenda Nash-Milton.

According to Wednesday's filing:

The proceedings are delayed due to an ongoing criminal investigation into Walker’s death. At the last status hearing on July 11, attorney Martin McManaman, counsel for Sheriff Kelley and Will County, informed everyone the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office anticipated it would take at least 60 days to complete numerous matters still being investigated.

This week, McManaman, who works for Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP in Chicago, said he learned from the Will County State's Attorney's Office that all but one of the items of investigation have been completed, and the single outstanding matter is expected to be completed within four weeks.

As a result, the lawsuit defendants have requested the previously entered delay remain in place, and that both sides file an updated status report in 30 days, or within one week of the Will County State's Attorney's Office announcement of the completion of the criminal investigation, whichever occurs first.

According to Wednesday's filing, Barney, the Walker family's lawyer, opposes any extension of the previously entered delay.

While McManaman is defending Sheriff Kelley and Will County, Northbrook attorney Julie Koerner of IFMK Law is representing the Will County Sheriff's sniper, Lt. Allen.

Back in March, the Illinois State Police notified Joliet Patch that its investigators had completed the May 10, 2022, Fifth Third Bank shooting probe back on July 18, 2022.

That means the case file has remained on a desk with Glasgow and his team of prosecutors for more than a year now, without a decision being made on whether to file criminal charges.

And even though many Illinois prosecutors and police departments are releasing video of shootings by police officers within a few months, Glasgow has opposed to releasing the May 2022 bank surveillance video of the Will County lieutenant fatally shooting the Crest Hill senior citizen as he exited the Fifth Third bank on Weber Road.

"Their review is active and ongoing. The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office has not authorized release of any video at this time," Illinois State Police spokeswoman Melaney Arnold notified Joliet Patch six months ago.

Related Joliet Patch coverage of the case:

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

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

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