Man Joliet police shot during domestic call in April dies

An armed man whom Joliet police shot on April 8 during a domestic disturbance call has died, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Jamal Smith, 31, of the 20 block of Broadway St. in Joliet, was pronounced dead at 3:05 p.m. Friday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Smith’s attorney, Lawrence X. O’Reilly, also confirmed his death.

Smith was one of two plaintiffs who filed a federal lawsuit against former Joliet Mayor Robert O’Dekirk in 2020 over an altercation at a protest that led to a $93,000 settlement with the city.

On April 8, Joliet police responded to an apartment building at 4:47 a.m., in the 900 block of Lois Place, after receiving a report of a possible domestic disturbance.

Officers discovered a man “actively firing a handgun” and Joliet police “discharged their weapons,” Joliet police said at the time.

Smith was shot once in the leg and once in the neck, Ken Kroll, a spokesman for the multiagency task force who also serves as Romeoville’s police chief, said in April.

Smith was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and the police officers involved with the shooting were taken to an area hospital, “in accordance with department policy,” Joliet police previously said.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, Joliet police previously said.

By April 19, the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force has completed “the bulk” of the investigation, Kroll previously said.

It was unclear where Smith died, based on the information from the medical examiners office.

Sgt. Dwayne English, spokesman for the Joliet Police Department, had no information on Smith’s death.