A federal jury did not rule in favor of a retired Joliet police sergeant who claimed in a lawsuit that a former colleague caused his false arrest in 2022.

A two-day trial in Chicago over the claims in the lawsuit filed by former Sgt. Dwayne Killian concluded Thursday with a verdict that was not in his favor, according to the federal court docket.

Instead, the jury issued a finding in favor of retired Joliet Police Sgt. Ed Grizzle, whom Killian accused in a lawsuit of causing his false arrest in 2022 over an alleged theft of a forklift. Grizzle denied the allegation.

The trial was held after failed settlement talks between attorneys for the city of Joliet and John Schrock, Killian’s attorney.

Killian claimed that he suffered $325,000 in damages for his alleged false arrest and loss of employment with the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force.

Killian and Grizzle were colleagues on the task force until 2022, when Grizzle accused him of stealing a forklift that had been seized by the task force.

U.S. District Court Judge LaShonda Hunt scheduled Nov. 13 as the deadline for any post-trial motions in Killian’s case.

The jury deliberated “less than two hours” before rendering a verdict that found Grizzle “did not violate Mr. Killian’s constitutional rights,” according to a statement Friday from Rosemarie DiBenedetto, the city’s spokeswoman.

Todd Lenzie, the city’s interim corporation counsel, was quoted in the statement saying that the city is pleased with Hunt’s May 15 summary judgment ruling, as well as the jury’s verdict, which “confirm that the city and its officers acted lawfully and appropriate.”

“This outcome reflects the city’s commitment to upholding constitutional protections while supporting the integrity of our law enforcement personnel,” Lenzie said.

Last year, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office issued a report on an investigation that found the Joliet Police Department engaged in a pattern of unlawful policing enabled by “broken accountability systems.”

In response, Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said the report does not reflect the department’s current state, and Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy said the city has been making “significant changes in how we work together to serve our residents.”

Killian first filed his lawsuit in 2023 in Will County. The case was later moved to federal court the same year.

At the time, the other defendants had included Evans, Deputy Police Chief Robert Brown, Sgt. Raul Alvarez and officer Ryan Shaw.

On May 15, Hunt issued a ruling that dismissed all defendants from the case except for Grizzle because they were entitled to qualified immunity.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government officials from lawsuits to the extent that their conduct does not violate the “clearly established rights” of plaintiffs.

Hunt ruled that reasonable jury could find Grizzle had no probable cause to arrest Killian. She also ruled that Grizzle cannot shield himself from the lawsuit under qualified immunity.

Killian was taken into custody in 2022 over allegations that he stole a forklift. Squad vehicle video showed Killian was not placed in handcuffs when he was taken to the Joliet Police Department.

The forklift was property seized by the task force and kept in a large warehouse at an abandoned steel mill, according to Hunt’s summary of the facts of the case.

In 2021, the task force was notified that the steel mill would be demolished, and its property needed a new location, Hunt said. Killian informed Grizzle that he could store the property at his residence, Hunt said.

In spring 2022, Grizzle requested the return of the forklift and emailed Killian instructions for a plan to auction the property, Hunt said.

Killian agreed to return the forklift, Hunt said.

But Grizzle emailed Killian in June 2022 to ask if he returned the forklift, and Killian said he would return it the next morning because it was a “hundred degrees outside,” Hunt said.

Grizzle then made a report “indicating Killian had committed theft” of task force property and arrested Killian for “theft of the forklift,” Hunt said.

“It is undisputed that on June 14, 2022, Killian returned a trailer, forklift and air compressor belonging to [the task force], and additional [task force] property, along with a 1980 Harley motorcycle on June 18, 2022,” Hunt said.

Attorneys for Grizzle contended that there was probable cause for Killian’s arrest, which is an “absolute defense” to a false arrest claim, according to a 2024 court filing from David Matheus, an outside attorney for the city.

Killian admitted that he took the forklift and other task force property without the consent of the task force, Matheus said.

Matheus argued that even if Killian’s “original taking of the forklift” and other task force property was “implicitly authorized,” he knew he had an “obligation to return it.”

“[Killian’s] refusal to do so, despite four separate orders, constituted probable cause for theft,” Matheus said.