FOIA Lawsuit: Joliet Police Hid Discipline For 3 Officers

JOLIET, IL — The city of Joliet Police Department has been accused of violating the Illinois Freedom of Information Act in a recently filed lawsuit. The lawsuit aims to force the police department to disclose what, if any, disciplinary measures were taken against three Joliet Police officers who are identified in the lawsuit as being suspected of testing positive for using performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids.

The lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse was filed by Joliet Herald-News reporter Felix Sarver against the city. The plaintiff is represented by attorney Joshua Hart Burday of the Chicago law firm Loevy & Loevy.

Here are some of the key highlights of the public records lawsuit:

Back on Jan. 10, Sarver filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Joliet Police seeking "copies of records concerning three named police officers and 'drug testing, steroid use, anabolic steroid use, growth hormone use or illegal drug use,'" his lawyer contends. The public records request covered the time frame of Oct. 1, 2018 through Jan. 10, 2019.

A week later, on Jan. 17, the Joliet Police Department rejected Sarver's request "in its entirety," the plaintiff's law firm states.

At that point, Sarver submitted an appeal of his public records denial to the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

"In its determination the Attorney General concluded that JPD improperly denied Sarver's FOIA request and instructed JPD to provide Sarver with the requested records," the lawsuit contends.

Since then, the Joliet Police Department, which is led by Chief of Police Al Roechner, has continued to stonewall the Joliet Herald-News public records request in spite of the newspaper's favorable opinion issued by the AG's office, according to the lawsuit.

"As of the date of filing, JPD has neither responded to Sarver nor produced any of the responsive records," Loevy & Loevy notified Will County's judicial system on May 14.

On Friday, Joliet Patch visited the Joliet Police Station seeking comment on the lawsuit from the upper police administration including Deputy Police Chief John Perona, whose correspondence with the Joliet newspaper is included within the lawsuit filing.

Police officials said that Perona was in a meeting and unavailable for comment.

Patch will update this article in the event that the deputy police chief provides additional comments regarding the lawsuit and the case involving the three named police officers.

In any event, the newspaper reporter's lawsuit contains court exhibits revealing that the newspaper reporter had asked for any "notices of terminations or recommendations to terminate the employment sent to Nicholas Crowley, Thomas Banas and Nicholas Amelio between the dates of Oct. 1, 2018 and Jan. 10, 2019."

According to the plaintiffs, the FOIA denial response from Deputy Police Chief John Perona indicated that "the disclosure would interfere with pending or actually/reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement agency that is the recipient of the request (open investigation, case pending)."

One of the lawsuit exhibits submitted by the Chicago lawyers states the following: "Dear Felix, we have received your FOIA request dated January 10, 2019. You requested the following: 'Reprimands, suspensions, notices of suspensions or any other notices of disciplinary action toward Nicholas Crowley, Thomas Banas and Nicholas Amelio between the dates of October 1, 2018 and January 10, 2019 ..."

Nick Crowley was the same Joliet Police officer who was put on paid suspension for nearly an entire year by former chief of police Brian Benton. In July 2017, Crowley got arrested by fellow Joliet Police officers in connection with an early morning weekend domestic disturbance where Crowley fired a gun into the ceiling of the townhouse he shared with his long-time girlfriend, Joliet Police Officer Cassie Socha.

At his May 2018 bench trial, Socha provided favorable testimony for Crowley, and he was found not guilty of reckless discharge of a gun.

Crowley was later given a month-long unpaid suspension for the incident and has since been reinstated back on the Joliet Police force, and he has made numerous arrests during the past year.

Here is an excerpt of the three-page letter sent to the city of Joliet's assistant corporation counsel Sabrina Spano by the Illinois Attorney General Office's supervising attorney Christopher Boggs, on March 6.

"This office notes that the Police Department's explanation is largely conclusory and does not set forth clear and convincing evidence from which this office could conclude that the records fall within the scope of any exemption in FOIA. Accordingly, this office concludes that the Police Department improperly withheld the requested records ... in their entireties (sic)."