Joliet Police Sgt. Still Proud He Leaked Eric Lurry Video

JOLIET, IL —Joliet Police Sgt. Javier Esqueda, who was stripped of his police powers about a year ago, was happy with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's decision Wednesday to open a widespread investigation into allegations of unlawful policing by members of the Joliet Police Department over a long period of time.

"I was excited when I heard about it; I read about it today," Esqueda told Joliet Patch and CBS Chicago Channel 2 investigative reporter Dave Savini on Wednesday afternoon in Joliet.

"I was excited because there's a lot of good officers in the Joliet Police Department that are still working there, and I'm sure they want the right thing to be done, and they have to work there for the next 28 to 30 years.

"This is a good thing for the department and it's good for all of them."

Savini then asked Sgt. Esqueda, "after all you've been through, since you did this, is it still worth it that you blew the whistle?"

"Absolutely," Esqueda answered. "It is worth it 100 percent. I know I did the right thing. This investigation is going to help so that for future officers they don't have to deal with the cover-up and have happen to them what happened to me."

Last October, the administration of Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner had four felony charges filed against Esqueda, a Joliet police supervisor in his 27th year on the job at the time. Esqueda was charged with several counts of official misconduct. Esqueda had obtained a copy of the videotape showing Black Joliet resident Eric Lurry dying in the backseat of the Joliet police car used by Officer Jose Tellez and Andrew McCue from Jan. 28, 2020.

Lurry died several hours later at a Joliet hospital.

Joliet Patch later reported that Tellez shut off the in-camera video system, which stopped both the video and audio recording. Tellez's actions meant nobody would be able to hear what Joliet police were saying to Lurry on Joliet Police Department property. Tellez received a six-day suspension from work in connection with his role in the Lurry case.

During Wednesday's interview near Joliet's Bicentennial Park, Esqueda was asked about the impact of being a police department whistleblower has done to his life, during the past year.

"It's turned it upside down," he said. "I'm charged with four felonies, four crimes that I didn't commit. Every day, I worry about that I'm going to wind up losing my pension. I'm going to lose my family because I'm going to be in jail. But, most importantly, it has strengthened my faith in God, more than anything. So I wouldn't lose faith in everything that's going on."

In May, Joliet Patch broke the news that Sgt. Esqueda has added his name to a letter sent to Washington, D.C.'s most powerful politicians from both political parties. The letter calls for national police reform and providing more safeguards to protect police officers like Esqueda and legendary New York City police officer Frank Serpico from retaliation and payback.

This week, the USA TODAY published a lengthy expose about the Joliet Police Department. The USA TODAY expose was headlined, "A police officer exposed a video showing a death in custody. Now he's facing prison time."

On Wednesday, Sgt. Esqueda was asked if he still thinks about Eric Lurry.

"Every day, every day," Esqueda repeated.

Esqueda said the reason "I did what I did" was because one of his fellow Joliet officers, now known to be Tellez, turned off the audio system on the Joliet squad car.

"I knew when I watched that video, it was being tampered with," Esqueda remarked. "And it came out, in the paper."

Savini then followed up asking if that constituted destruction of evidence, audio evidence.

"Yes, it is," Esqueda agreed.

And what does that say about the Joliet Police Department?

"Well, it says they have to investigate things thoroughly, when things happen like this," he answered. "There can't be a cover-up, it's got to be transparent. If it was transparent from the beginning, we wouldn't be here where we are today."

Esqueda maintains he has been the victim of retaliation from the Joliet Police Department. Some of the key people involved in the Lurry case have left the department.

In January, Chief Roechner agreed to retire rather than risk being fired by the incoming city manager Jim Capparelli.

With Roechner gone, Lt. Dawn Malec was promoted to chief, and she replaced three of Roechner's four deputy police chiefs: Darrell Gavin, Marc Reid and Joe Rosado. Only Rosado remains on the force. Gavin and Reid retired, and Reid is now working as a sergeant for the nearby Elwood Police Department.

Esqueda said he has a message for other officers thinking about blowing the whistle on issues within their respective police departments.

"Remember your honesty and integrity ... it always comes first," Esqueda suggested. "Remember the oath you took. Every department has a policy, first page, and it's there ... and they have an ethics policy. That ... is what comes first in the importance of the safety of the citizens of Joliet and how we treat them."

The Illinois Attorney General announced Wednesday that his probe, focusing solely on the Joliet Police Department, is a pattern and practices investigation.

In other words, Raoul's team of lawyers will investigate Joliet police for potential patterns of officer misconduct, use of force or other issues that arise, Esqueda was reminded during Wednesday's interview.

Raoul indicated his investigation would not be focused on how the Lurry investigation was handled by the Will County State's Attorney's Office or Esqueda himself.

When asked for his reaction to that news, Esqueda responded, "I think it has to do with everything, the totality of the circumstances. I'm sure through this investigation, which is going to come out, about all the prior practices and these incidents that occurred."

When asked if Raoul will discover something in the Joliet Police Department that he won't be able to ignore, Esqueda said, "Oh, I know he's going to discover it. He's going to find things that he can't turn his face to, and I'm so glad he's doing this now."

Joleit's current city manager brought Esqueda back to work, reassigning him to City Hall several months ago while his felony case is pending in Kendall County.

Esqueda's official misconduct charges probably won't go to trial until sometime next year.

Savini's interview from Joliet with Sgt. Esqueda aired at 6 p.m. on CBS Chicago Channel 2. To see his report, go here.

Related: Read Joliet Patch's coverage of Kwame Raoul's news conference about the Joliet Police Department