Lt. Jeremy Harrison's Off-Duty Crash 'All Covered Up:' Source

SHOREWOOD, IL — It's around 1 a.m. on the weekend and the 41-year-old man in the black 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer struggled to maintain control of his steering wheel in The Fields of Shorewood subdivision. Reports show that off-duty Joliet Police Lieutenant Jeremy Harrison, then 41, had a blonde female passenger and a child in his Trailblazer as he tried to stay focused on Wildflower Drive early that Sunday morning on April 22, 2018.

The Fields of Shorewood is at the northwest corner of River and Black Roads. The speed limit is 25 mph. The roads are marked and paved. The temperature was in the fifties that day and the roads were dry. Most residents were fast sleep when Harrison's black SUV veered across the other lane of traffic. His SUV collided with the front driver's fender and mirror of an unattended 2013 Nissan Altima parked on the opposite side of the street, in the 800 block of Wildflower Drive, according to police reports.

After colliding with someone's 2013 Nissan Altima parked on Wildflower Drive, Harrison's black SUV continued eastbound, until he stopped at the southeast corner of Wildflower Circle to switch drivers, incident reports show.

The following entries are taken from the Shorewood Police's dispatch report:

12:57 a.m.

"Hit and run. Nissan Altima was struck (by) darker car, possibly four-door, had loud muffler, last seen eastbound. Driver side was hit on Nissan Altima. No injuries. Vehicle was parked on (the) street."

12:58 a.m.

"Additional information stating 10-56 (drunk driver) vehicle struck a parked vehicle."

12:59 a.m.

"Vehicle switched drivers. Black sports utility vehicle on Wildflower Circle, southeast, approaching Vertin (Boulevard) and making a left. Caller is following at a distance. Vehicle has left side damage and tail light out."

The dispatch report also states "one occupant got out of the vehicle at first and stumbled. Female with blonde hair and male."

Meanwhile, back on Wildflower Drive, the victim notifies WESCOM that "she heard a noise, got up to go look and seen the car driving away fast. Male was driver when it happened."

1 a.m.

Three minutes have passed since the hit-and-run crash.

The black Chevy Trailblazer is still on the move.

The SUV is traveling on Primrose Lane, passing Trillium Lane and "running stop signs," dispatch reports state.

1:01 a.m.

The SUV reaches Brosam Drive. WESCOM is notified a "child is also in the car" and the suspects are exiting their damaged vehicle and entering their house.

The distance from the house and the crash on Wildflower Drive is between seven and eight blocks.

WESCOM is told the suspect's address and license plates.

Apparently, a conscientious motorist saw the hit-and-run unfold. Realizing this appeared to be a dangerous intoxicated motorist, the motorist wanted to do the right thing, first notifying 911, then following the hit-and-run suspect at a safe driving distance and staying on the phone with the 911 dispatchers, providing real-time details of what was occurring.

The eyewitness caller had no clue the offender was an off-duty Joliet Police Department lieutenant.

In any event, Shorewood Police responded, since the incident happened in their territory.

Based on the evidence, Harrison, then 41, could have faced serious trouble with the law. A driving under the influence charge was not out of the question. Fleeing the scene of a property damage crash and switching drivers could have lead to obstruction of justice charges.

About seven minutes after Harrison reached his driveway, Shorewood Police Patrol Sgt. Brian Poulsen notified WESCOM to call out someone from Joliet Police Department's Supervisors Association - even though this was a Shorewood case, incident reports show.

1:07 a.m. and 1:08 a.m.

"Sgt. Poulsen ... is out at this address investigating a h&r (hit and run) that occurred in their town, requesting a Joliet Police Department Supervisor to the scene."

WESCOM subsequently advises others that, "Joliet Police Department notified and responding."

Harrison was promoted to lieutenant in 2015 under Chief Brian Benton. He is a member of Joliet Police's Supervisors Association and a representative on the city's police pension board. In 2018, Harrison was the 35th highest paid employee in the city, making $164,221.

1:11 a.m., a Joliet Police sergeant notifies dispatch he is en route. It takes him 15 minutes to arrive. A second Joliet patrol officer also en route is cleared from having to respond. Therefore, she doesn't go to the call.

1:26 a.m., the Joliet sergeant arrives. He remains on the scene for 57 minutes.

2:23 a.m., the Joliet sergeant departs.

That morning, Shorewood Police Officer Paul Retzke, Badge #728, writes up the official Illinois Traffic Crash Report. He checks the box for damage "over $1,500" involving Harrison's Chevy Trailblazer and the female victim's Nissan Altima.

The dispatch logs refer to the call as a hit and run. Officer Retzke's own Shorewood Police sergeant refers to the call as a hit and run. After all, Harrison's damaged SUV continued another eight blocks after failing to notify the victim he smashed into her car. Instead, he drove to his home.

However, on the official traffic crash report, the Shorewood Police officer checked the box for "No" on whether this was a hit-and-run.

The Shorewood officer still had to identify the contributing causes for Harrison's crash into a parked car on the opposite side of the street, around 1 a.m. that late April weekend. The list of traffic crash codes include Code 8: under the influence of alcohol/drugs, use when arrest is effected; or Code 19: Had been drinking, use when arrest is not made.

For JPD's Harrison, Officer Retzke checked the box for Code 18: "Improper lane usage" and the box for Code 20: "Unable to determine."

Retzke's crash report contained the following:

"Unit 1 traveled southbound on Wildflower Drive. Unit 1 improperly crossed into the northbound lane of traffic and struck a parked vehicle on the east side of Wildflower Drive. Unit 1 struck the parked vehicle on the front driver side fender and mirror. Unit 1 said another vehicle followed him from Joliet and was scared. Unit 1 returned home and was going to call the police, but wanted to call the police about the vehicle who followed him.

"The vehicle who followed Unit 1 claimed after Unit 1 struck the parked vehicle, the female passenger and male driver switched seats. Unit 1 refused to sign his citation and refused to provide information of occupants of the vehicle."

Although WESCOM notified on-duty police this was a 10-56 call, a suspected drunken driver, Shorewood's crash summary does not include mention of Harrison's condition to drive, whether he was out drinking or where he was headed at 1 a.m.; the neighborhood eyewitness who gave chase reported he saw "one occupant of the vehicle got out at first and stumbled."

The issue of Harrison stopping and switching drivers was also unaddressed, as was the issue of having a child inside of his vehicle during a suspected drunken driving offense.

Of course, one of the key unanswered questions surrounds Shorewood Patrol Sgt. Poulsen's decision to summon for a Joliet Police supervisor to respond to a property damage crash in The Fields of Shorewood subdivision.

At the time of his crash on Wildflower Drive, it had been six months since Harrison received a two-day unpaid suspension from the Joliet Police Department.

"An investigation was conducted concerning your alleged actions that you failed to devote your entire duty time to the services of the department and engaged in inappropriate behavior in a manner that was unbecoming of a Joliet Police Department supervisor," stated the synopsis from Chief Benton's disciplinary notice.

In August, Joliet Police responded to a Joliet Patch Freedom of Information Act request seeking access to all disciplinary measures against Lt. Harrison. At the time of his off-duty wreck in Shorewood, the top administration consisted of Chief Benton, Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations Al Roechner and Lt. Marc Reid, who ran Internal Affairs.

Harrison is also part of the upper administration of his department.

According to the FOIA response, no discipline was taken against Harrison surrounding his late-night activities on April 22, 2018, not even a written reprimand or verbal reprimand.

Harrison did not face any criminal charges as a result of his crash in which Shorewood Police called for a Joliet Police Supervisor to get involved, after realizing Harrison was the offender.

On May 8, 2018, two weeks after his crash, Harrison pleaded guilty to his lone traffic ticket issued by Shorewood Police for "improper lane usage-crossing lane boundary unsafely."

His fine was $120 and his case at the Will County Courthouse was closed.

But not everybody was on board with the way in which Lt. Harrison's off-duty 1 a.m. crash was handled. A confidential source provided Patch with a thick envelope of documents about Harrison, to help bring this story to light.

The source used a highlight marker to draw particular attention to the entry from April 22, 2018, 10 minutes after the initial crash.

1:07:33 a.m. "JPD Notified and Responding."

"ABOVE ALL COVERED UP," the source wrote in caps.

Patch reached out to Jeremy Harrison, Shorewood Police Sgt. Poulsen and Shorewood Officer Retzke, but none of three responded for comment.