Ex-task force leader’s lawsuit against Joliet police chief, others moves to federal court

A lawsuit filed against the Joliet police chief and other officials by the former deputy director for the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force has been moved from Will County to federal court.

The May 31 lawsuit from retired Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne Killian was moved to federal court because he is alleging constitutional violations with his claims that he was falsely arrested and accused of theft last year.

As a result, the Will County case for Killian’s lawsuit was closed.

Killian’s lawsuit names as defendants: Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans, Sgt. Ed Grizzle, who also serves as director of the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force, Deputy Chief Robert Brown, Sgt. Raul Alvarez and officer Ryan Shaw.

On June 14, Killian’s lawsuit was assigned to U.S. Judge LaShonda Hunt, who was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden on Jan. 18 to serve on the bench for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The city’s usual outside attorneys with the law firm Hervas, Condon and Bersani are representing Evans and other police officials in the lawsuit case. They have yet to respond to the allegations in Killian’s lawsuit and they are seeking more time to do so.

“The undersigned needs additional time to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations of the complaint and file the appropriate responsive pleadings,” said attorney Michael Bersani, in a motion filed on Friday.

Killian’s lawsuit alleged he was accused of theft and fired from his job as deputy director of the task force for storing a forklift, trailer and air compressor on his property in Minooka, even though his supervisor knew the equipment was being stored there for the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force.

He claimed he never used the equipment and only moved it there after the task force was denied access to other sites, including city property, for storage.

Killian alleged Joliet police arrested Killian on June 14, 2022, when he was accused of theft.

Joliet police have never acknowledged arresting Killian and prosecutors have not brought any charges against him.

In February, Killian’s attorney, John Schrock filed a court petition on Killian’s behalf seeking information about the circumstances leading to his arrest and the people involved.

A Joliet police case report obtained by The Herald-News in a Freedom of Information Act request shows that Alvarez and Shaw participated in the arrest of Killian in what is described as assistance to the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force.