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.