Eric Lurry

A federal judge has not yet ruled on a motion that could decide the fate of a lawsuit against Joliet police officers over a man's death in 2020 that led to protests and controversy at Joliet City Hall.

A doctor who testified in former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s trial over the murder of George Floyd is one of many experts whom a federal judge has allowed to testify in a lawsuit between the city of Joliet and the widow of Eric Lurry.

Both parties in the case against Joliet police sergeant Javier Esqueda are still contending with several issues before trial, such as whether Esqueda can call himself a whisteblower.

The union representing Joliet Police Department sergeants and lieutenants voted to expel a member charged with felony official misconduct for leaking a video of an arrested man overdosing in the back of a squad car, the organization’s president said Wednesday night.

The protest was held outside of the office building for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow.

Lurry's widow is also continuing calls for Joliet officers to have body cameras and other reforms at local level over a year after his death last year

Family and friends of Eric “BJ” Lurry Jr. gathered around his grave one year after he died to commemorate the life of a man whose death in police custody led to protests and calls for police reforms in Joliet.

A witness claimed a Joliet police sergeant said he would use the Eric Lurry video against another sergeant involved in the incident if he received discipline from an internal affairs investigations against him, according to police reports obtained

At Wednesday’s court hearing in Kendall County, Sgt. Javier Esqueda’s attorney Jeff Tomczak acknowledged he received a copy of the indictment against his client and entered a plea of not guilty to four counts of official misconduct

The indictment filed Tuesday charged Sgt. Javier Esqueda, 51, with four counts of official misconduct in Kendall County. Esqueda has been on paid administrative leave since Oct. 21, according to Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English.

Demonstrators protested outside the Will County State's Attorney office in downtown Joliet in response to the death of Eric Lurry

Sgt. Javier Esqueda, 51, was placed on administrative leave in July "due to the fact that he is under criminal investigation and an internal affairs investigation," Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner said at the time

Nicole Lurry, whose husband’s overdose death in Joliet police custody sparked calls for police reform, said she intends to run for a seat on the City Council next year.

Will County Deputy Chief Dan Jungles has been named the new chairman of the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force.

Demonstrators circled Joliet City Hall, the Will County Courthouse and the Joliet Police Department on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in response to the Jan. 28 overdose death of Eric Lurry, who died in police custody.

The Jan. 29 overdose death of Eric Lurry in Joliet police custody inspired another group of protesters to march in the city on Saturday.

A Joliet woman claims in a federal lawsuit that a police officer tackled her at a prayer vigil and arrested her without justification, and that a police sergeant mocked her when she said she needed treatment.

Several of Eric Lurry’s family members held a rally against Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow outside his office in downtown Joliet

The widow of Eric Lurry has filed a federal lawsuit that blamed four Joliet police officers for causing her husband’s death

About a dozen protesters gathered again outside Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk's home to demand his resignation but also took the demonstration to City Councilman Pat Mudron’s home.

The widow of Eric Lurry has sought quick appointment as the administrator of her husband’s estate after she expressed concerns about Joliet police potentially tampering or destroying evidence

Herb Lande, chairman of Joliet's Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, returned to the job Thursday after resigning earlier this week.

The attorney for the family of Eric Lurry said he hired a medical examiner to perform a second autopsy on him and he will hire experts to examine the police videos of his arrest.

Police on Tuesday released video from the Eric Lurry death investigation.

The chairman of the the city police board has resigned as police controversies, including unrest over the death of Eric Lurry, continue to intensify.

Demonstrators took over sections of Jefferson Street on Sunday, and at least two were arrested when they marched into the street for a third time in a protest over the death of Eric Lurry.

Eight family members met with police to see the nearly 23 minutes of video showing Eric Lurry in the squad car, which may be released to the public next week.

Eric Lurry's family on Tuesday grilled the Joliet City Council over his death, a police video that has recently become public, and an internal investigation that has led to a whistleblower being stripped of police duties.

Sgt. Javier Esqueda was sent to work in the records section of the police department Monday, Roechner said, "due to the fact that he is under criminal investigation and an internal affairs investigation."

About 30 protesters marched outside of the Joliet Police Department's main station Tuesday afternoon over the death of Eric Lurry.

The mother of Eric Lurry on Monday sought answers from the Joliet City Council on what would be done regarding the police “officers that murdered my son.”

The family of Eric “BJ” Lurry, who died in police custody in January, joined the weekly protest at Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk’s home to demand his resignation, as well as the termination and arrest of police officers.

The Will County Coroner's Office released a statement Thursday saying Lurry's death was "accident due to heroin, fentanyl and cocaine intoxication due to Mr. Lurry ingesting large quantities of the narcotics as depicted in the squad car video."

Some Joliet Black community leaders shown the video by police called the video disturbing while saying it does not depict brutality or evidence that the officers contributed to Lurry’s death.

Joliet police on Wednesday showed video of Eric D. Lurry Jr. in police custody before his death on Jan. 29.

Joliet police arrested Eric D. Lurry Jr. on drug-related charges Tuesday as a result of a narcotics investigation in the area of Briggs and Washington streets, according to a news release from the Will-Grundy Counties Major Crimes Task Force.