1 rotten apple? Union Votes to Fire Cop who Exposed Torture and Death of Handcuffed Man

Cops who expose departmental misconduct and work to avoid violence often find themselves on the receiving end of this judicial system, condemned for doing the right thing. This retribution against officers for revealing corruption inside their units refutes the "one bad apple" idea totally. Is it "one rotten apple" if a whole department tries to snub an officer for doing the right thing?

Police in Joliet Sgt. Javier Esqueda is an excellent officer. We can say this with confidence since he demonstrated it by refusing to remain quiet about suspected illegal activities committed by his fellow officers and risking his job and now his freedom in order to shed light on the matter. He thought enough was enough after seeing a video of his fellow police seem to choke a guy who ultimately died. His other cops restrained Eric Lurry while he was handcuffed, suffocated him, struck him, and jammed a baton into his mouth moments before he died.

Esqueda was detained and then indicted and charged with four counts of official misconduct for allegedly watching a video of suspected criminal behaviour inside his own agency. He now risks up to 20 years in prison for doing the right thing.

Surely no one in Esqueda's department or union would condone such an act of barbarism, correct? Wrong. According to a storey in this week's USA Today, members of the Joliet Police Officers Association voted 35-1 to remove Esqueda on Wednesday.

That's correct; over 100% of the cops in Esqueda's union wanted him arrested and detained - just for doing the right thing. Is it a single rotten apple?

Esqueda told the newspaper that he feels the union's approach is another instance of peer retribution.

"They all wanted me accused, they all wanted me gone, and by doing so, they're gratifying themselves," Esqueda said of the union decision. "And do I really want to be linked with them after all that's happened?"

The complaint against this good cop alleges that on June 10, 2020, Esqueda "knowingly committed an act that he knew was prohibited by law in that he used the laptop in his Joliet Police Department squad car while not on duty to access the Joliet Police Department WatchGuard system in order to view a locked video file, and he did so while travelling through Kendall County in a motor vehicle." The preceding events happened in Kendall County, Illinois."

Al Roechner, the chief of police in Joliet, arranged the criminal charges against Esqueda after he brought humiliation to the department in July by leaking the video.

"What is most tragic about this is that Chief Roechner is sending a clear message to frontline officers that if they witness what they believe to be officer misconduct, they must keep their mouths shut and remain silent or face felony charges," Esqueda's attorney, Jeff Tomczak, told Patch at the time of the charges in May. He then prophesied that Esqueda would get a goldmine – from Joliet and Illinois taxpayers – as a consequence of a future federal lawsuit that Esqueda is now guaranteed to initiate against the city of Joliet and Chief Roechner's Joliet Police Department.

Because prosecutors in Esqueda's county were at a loss for charges against the officer, Tomczak claims the chief travelled to a nearby county in order to get a favour in arresting the excellent policeman.

"I also have no doubt that these accusations were shopped about and when Will County prosecutors rejected, as they should, they went shopping in Kendall County and found a prosecutor to bring these poor charges."

"I anticipate victory, and I anticipate that this case will conclude with a large, fat federal judgement against the city of Joliet and each officer charged," Tomczak promised Patch.

The fact that a cop who performed his job and exposed criminals in order to hold them responsible would later be jailed says much about the thin blue line's nature. When one examines the case Esqueda revealed, it is shocking to see how this is being concealed.

Eric Lurry was tortured by cops before he died in their hands.

On January 29, 2020, police arrested Lurry on suspicion of possessing a controlled drug.

According to CBS 2, Nicole Lurry said that her husband had just obtained his barber licence and was enrolled in school to become a barber school teacher. However, in late January, the 37-year-old – who had already spent time on narcotics offences – was arrested again.

When police caught Lurry, they placed him in the back of a squad vehicle and accused him of snorting cocaine. Because the state claims the right to abduct, confine, beat, and murder individuals for arbitrary reasons, Lurry was practically tortured when he was placed in the back of the automobile.

To coerce Lurry into spitting up the narcotics, officers taped his nose shut while thrusting a baton into his mouth and striking him. This torment lasted approximately two minutes, during which time Lurry became comatose and subsequently died.

Though the Will County coroner's office declared his death an accident caused by heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine intoxication, Esqueda and a large number of others who saw the video disagree.

"He was choking," Esqueda said. "Anyone, in my view, would perish in those scenario."

The agency withheld the footage for five months while clearing the officers involved. Nicole Lurry was unaware of the existence of the video until Esqueda blew the whistle after discovering it.

To compound the heinous crime of concealing such incriminating evidence, the audio was switched off after the police were seen slapping Lurry.

"It was almost as though the supervisor looked away and spoke to someone, and suddenly the voice stopped off. That alerted me to the possibility that they were attempting to dispose of evidence," Esqueda stated.

"So there was an intentional, first act to disable or eliminate the audio?" Last year, CBS 2 reporters questioned Sgt. Esqueda.

"At some point, there had to be. That is not possible," he said.

If all officers have this commitment, America would be in a far better position than it now is.

Unfortunately, corruption and brutality are the norms, and the officers responsible for Lurry's killing remain at large, while the cop who uncovered his death faces a 20-year jail sentence.

The whole senior management of the Joliet Police Department, the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, Coroner Patrick O'Neil, and State's Attorney James Glasgow all remained quiet regarding Lurry's death, illuminating a systematic and corrupt code of silence.

And today, the only person facing charges in connection with Lurry's death is the one who uncovered it. Is this fair?