Owner of Undisputed Gym Tased By Joliet Police, 2 Charges Filed

JOLIET, IL — The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has filed two counts of resisting a peace officer against well-known Joliet business owner Brandon Kelly, who operates the Undisputed Strength gym and fitness center on Essington Road.

The 43-year-old gym owner was tased and arrested by several Joliet police officers during a Sept. 27 fitness class before sunrise.

In police body camera footage of the incident, Kelly's confrontation with several Joliet officers on the sidewalk of Undisputed Strength turned violent after Kelly shouted profanity and ordered the officers to get off his property and not to enter his gym. Several Joliet police squad cars arrived at Undisputed Strength sometime after 5 a.m. to investigate a noise complaint made by one of the nearby homeowners.

According to the criminal complaint, Kelly pushed Joliet Police Officer Allen Pina, and Kelly pulled away from Joliet Police Officer Nicholas Szalinski on Sept. 27.

This week, following a Freedom of Information Act request, the Joliet Police Department furnished Joliet Patch with several of their body camera videos showing the events surrounding Kelly's arrest on Sept. 27 inside his west side gym.

The body camera video of Kelly being tasered by Joliet police can be seen in its entirety at the bottom of this Joliet Patch article. In the video, Kelly can be seen coming out of Undisputed Strength as he begins swearing and shouting at the Joliet police to get off his property. They were interrupting his fitness class he was teaching, Kelly tells them in the video.

In the clip, the officers tell Kelly they were there to investigate a noise complaint. Eventually, Kelly orders them to stay out of his gym before going back inside, but when the officers follow him into the gym, a fight breaks out and Kelly gets tased as he scuffles with officers.

Since his arrest at his gym, the Joliet resident has retained downtown Joliet criminal defense lawyer Chuck Bretz of Chuck Bretz & Associates.

Bretz told Joliet Patch during Wednesday's interview that he plans to put forth a vigorous defense on Kelly's two charges of resisting a peace officer.

A long-time Will County criminal defense lawyer, Bretz said he's never seen anything like what happened to Kelly on Sept. 27.

Bretz said the Joliet police officers had not conducted a proper investigation to determine the validity of the noise complaint made by the neighbor. Secondly, even if the noise complaint was valid, Bretz said, the officers turned a city of Joliet noise ordinance violation — which is only a fine, and not a crime —into a violent altercation that left a Joliet business owner being tasered while he was teaching a fitness class to several customers.

"I don't believe that Brandon should be charged," Bretz told Joliet Patch Wednesday. "From what I've seen so far, including them tasering him, these officers are conducting an improper investigation. They did not conduct themselves in a lawful manner during this event. Brandon did not do anything that he could be arrested for, and they unlawfully entered his business and physically assaulted him."

As for the body camera video, "they've charged him with resisting, but do you hear anybody telling him he's under arrest?" Bretz remarked. "They did not do a proper investigation to see if he was even in violation of anything. They came inside the business without permission. They didn't have authority to be there, and physically assaulted, tasering the owner in front of his customers in the middle of a fitness class he was coaching."

After being arrested while barefoot and taken to the Joliet police station for booking procedures, Kelly posted a video on his Facebook page later that day called, "Hi, I'm Out."

In his one-minute Facebook video, Kelly told everyone, "Let's get right to it. I'm out. I'm OK. Everything's good. A couple of knicks, nothing too crazy. I appreciate ... your support. I apologize if anybody got hurt or offended. Just know I'm huge on respect. It's a two-way street, and I respect the law enforcement, and I respect my city, and I especially respect the members in the gym wholeheartedly.

"I can't get into too much detail on this, per counsel, but I do take this on the chin, and I will take my consequences and whatever comes with it. Whether good or bad, I'm going to deal with it ... I'm sure this will get out fast. Just know, it is what it is till it ain't. Peace."

CONTENT WARNING: The following video contains explicit language.