A Joliet police lieutenant put on leave for an ongoing city inspector general investigation was found in 2024 to have violated departmental policy by shooting at a fleeing vehicle, city records show.

Since July 29, Lt. Jeremy Harrison has been on administrative leave pending a separate investigation by Joliet Inspector General Stephen DiNolfo. City officials have declined to provide details about that investigation.

Harrison has been with the Joliet Police Department since 1999. He has overseen the narcotics unit since January 2019.

Harrison is also among four police defendants in a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Nicole Lurry, the widow of Eric Lurry Jr., 37, who died in 2020 from an accidental drug overdose following his arrest. The lawsuit is scheduled for a settlement conference on Dec. 17.

During Harrison’s time on the force, he’s received at least 30 awards but he’s also faced disciplinary issues in the past, according to records provided to The Herald-News in response to a Freedom Of Information Act request.

One of those disciplinary issues involved Harrison firing a gun at a fleeing vehicle on Oct. 6, 2023.

Officers found a stolen Mercedes-Benz in Joliet that was suspected of being involved in an aggravated carjacking incident in Cook County, according to an Oct. 7, 2023 statement from Joliet police officials.

The 15-year-old driver of the vehicle attempted to escape and almost struck an officer with his vehicle, police said.

“An officer on scene discharged their firearm but did not strike the suspect. The suspect refused to stop, and a vehicle chase ensued,” according to the 2023 police statement.

The driver struck an unmarked squad vehicle and several other vehicles before fleeing on foot, police said. The driver was arrested and officers recovered a rifle from the vehicle, police said.

On April 2, 2024, Joliet Police Chief William Evans issued a “final decision” notice to Harrison following an administrative hearing over an internal affairs complaint.

The notice said Harrison violated a general order prohibiting officers from firing “at or from a moving vehicle” unless “absolutely necessary in self-defense” or in defense of another when a suspect “uses deadly force by means other than a vehicle.”

Harrison was given notice of the decision to receive a 24-hour suspension, according to Evan’s notice.

Police shootings are usually conducted by the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force. The 2023 shooting was investigated by Naperville law firm, Ottosen, DiNolfo, Hasenbalg and Castaldo.

DiNoflo, the city’s inspector general, is an attorney with the firm.

Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English, the department’s spokesman, said the shooting was not investigated by the task force because there were no injuries or death.

The investigation by the law firm found there was no evidence that Harrison was acting in self-defense in the shooting, according to a record provided to The Herald-News in response to a FOIA request.

“Further, there is no evidence showing the need to shoot in defense of another because the suspect was not using deadly force by means other than the vehicle. There were no officers or civilians in the line of travel of the Mercedes as it fled,” according to the law firm.

Harrison maintained he did not violate any general orders or policies but the law firm found the evidence “contradicts his position, especially the absence of any concrete evidence of the suspect having a weapon.”