Don't Fear Reporting Joliet Police Misconduct: AG's Lawyers

JOLIET, IL — The days of Joliet Police Department officers and their supervisors condoning the use of excessive force against the citizens or Joliet officers making up phony reasons to target minority residents for traffic stops and arrests are a thing of the past, according to several lawyers who work for Illinois Attorney Kwame Raoul.

On Thursday, several experienced lawyers involved in the civil rights suit for Raoul held a virtual town hall to explain their investigation of the Joliet Police Department's policing practices.

The meeting stemmed from Raoul's announcement earlier this month that he is opening an investigation into possible patterns or practices of unconstitutional or unlawful policing by the Joliet Police Department.

Everyone that watched Thursday's Zoom was encouraged to call the toll-free hotline set up by Raoul's legal staff in regard to its investigation if they have first-hand experiences involving instances of excessive force, racial discrimination, improper search and seizure or other examples of police misconduct by Joliet officers or supervisors.

Do not be afraid to contact the Attorney's Office staff, the lawyers often repeated during the virtual town hall. They told everyone watching they are here to earn your trust.

So far, the legal staff for Raoul has obtained more than 20,000 reports and documents from the city of Joliet and Joliet Police Department, but the lawyers said they might not know if members of Thursday's virtual town hall complained of being discriminated against by Joliet's officers because the police department "may not have recorded that" in their written summary reports.

The legal staff made it clear during Thursday night's forum that their investigation into the Joliet Police Department is not just for show. They mean business.

And, the lawyers explained, their preliminary investigation involving the use of excessive force, traffic stops, searches, seizures and arrests, discriminatory policing and allegations of police misconduct within Joliet gave them "enough pause to start an investigation."

The lawyers made it clear their investigation is strictly focusing on the Joliet Police Department and not on other agencies or local governments, such as the Will County Sheriff's Office or the Will County judicial system, for example.

What may result from the Attorney General's Office probe into the Joliet Police Department? Attorney Stevi Steines revealed it's possible the city of Joliet and Joliet Department may enter into a consent decree, which becomes a settlement of record that "is overseen by a judge."

She described a consent decree as "a set of promises the city and Joliet Police Department must keep."

"I want to be clear," Steines remarked during Thursday's virtual town hall, "we have not made any findings."

Steines also wanted people to know that she and her team of lawyers "are not reviewing decades of old files" from the Joliet Police Department.

The records under review go back "about five years," she said.

In other words, the Attorney General's Office will focus on uncovering problems and issues involving misconduct and unlawful policing practices during the administrations of Police Chief Brian Benton, who left Joliet in 2018, and Benton's successor, Al Roechner, who retired in January rather than face the prospect of being fired by the new city manager, Jim Capparelli.

Benton recently resurrected his police career. He's now working as the interim chief of police for the village of Mokena.

According to Raoul, his office will take specific incidents into account during the investigation into the Joliet Police Department; however, the investigation’s questions, findings and conclusions will be focused on whether systemic problems exist within the Joliet Police Department. The investigation will not involve reconsidering criminal charging decisions made within the jurisdiction of local prosecutors.

Lastly, Raoul said he is encouraging individuals who have information relevant to the investigation to email input.joliet@ilag.gov or call the Attorney General’s office at 833-243-1498. Additional information about the investigation is available on the Attorney General’s website.