Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s team holds meeting on Joliet police investigation

The team behind Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s investigation of the Joliet Police Department said their probe could make a “big difference” even if it is not the key to solving all the department’s problems.

Raoul’s team of attorneys hosted a Zoom meeting on Thursday to introduce themselves to Joliet residents, provide an overview of the investigation and explain the potential outcomes. The team also encouraged residents to reach out to them about their experiences with the police department.

Assistant Attorney General Hannah Jurowicz told viewers their team is not promising the investigation is the “key to solving police problems.” She said if the investigation uncovers unconstitutional practices or policies by the Joliet Police Department, it could make “a big difference that those rules need to change.”

“That’s how you hold people accountable,” Jurowicz said.

Raoul’s attorneys explained yet again that the investigation is not criminal in nature and will not focus on the Jan. 29, 2020, overdose death of Eric Lurry in police custody following his arrest in connection with a drug investigation.

“We understand there is a lot of frustration, not just with Mr. Lurry’s death but with other cases, potentially about criminal charges but we can’t open or reopen a criminal investigation because under state law, we don’t have the power to do criminal investigations like that,” Jurowicz said.

It was Mayor Bob O’Dekirk’s June 24, 2020, letter to Raoul’s office asking for the investigation into the Lurry case that led to Raoul considering a broader investigation of possible patterns or practices of unconstitutional or unlawful policing by the Joliet Police Department.

Raoul announced a civil investigation of the department on Sept. 8. The investigation will review officers’ use of force, stops, searches, arrests and handling of misconduct allegations over the past five years.

Assistant Attorney General Stevi Steines, the lead investigator, said Raoul’s office initially reviewed “over 100” use of force reports over the past five years, investigations and complaints of misconduct, policies and “a couple of Taser videos.”

“What we have seen has given us enough pause to warrant starting an official investigation,” Steines said.

Steines said the length of investigation would depend on the level of cooperation from the police department, the nature and quality of the records they receive and the path of the investigation.

“At this stage we just cannot predict how long the investigation will take … Similar investigations conducted by the U.S. federal Department of Justice have taken years,” Steines said.

Raoul’s office received more than 20,000 documents from the police department and requested even more for review, according to Assistant Attorney General Amy Meek.

“These written documents are not going to give us the full picture and that’s a big part of why we’re here tonight,” Meek said.

Steines said their team plans to look “very heavily” into the department’s “accountability systems,” particularly if they find patterns or practices of misconduct.

“If we find those patterns or practices of misconduct, we will be looking at the causes and if one of those causes is the police accountability system, including the internal discipline and complaint system, we’re going to identify those and lay those out in our written findings,” Steines said.

Steines also said the investigation will review police union contracts and identify if there are any provisions that might lead to patterns or practices of unconstitutional policing.

Steines said if the investigation does uncover clear evidence of unlawful policing, their team will not wait until the end of the investigation to notify the department.

Jurowicz said while the investigation is focused on the “larger picture” instead of any single incident, it can be a “powerful thing.”

“The people in charge of a police department, that might change, however what we’re looking at – with systematic changes – would impact the rules in place,” she said.