standing ovation for Sgt Esquada, for having the courage, and bravery, and honesty, to blow the whistle on the Joliet police department, for covering up the torture of Eric Lurry, by police, in the back seat of a police car

the arrest of Eric Lurry was in the back of a police car during a drug arrest in January 2020. While Lurry was handcuffed, officers are seen pinching his nose, slapping him, and sticking a baton in his mouth.

While Lurry was handcuffed, officers are seen pinching his nose, slapping him, and sticking a baton in his mouth.

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/08/02/joliet-police-sgt-javier-esqueda-lamplighter-project-moral-courage-award/

you might recall NYPD torturing a guy, Brooklyn's 70th precinct, and killing him, in 1997, by ramming a toilet plunger handle up his ass. Seems that the police forgot that was not allowed, is illegal, and sure as hell not in the procedure of what to do with SUSPECTS after arrest.

Instead of the police department having any decent people in any level of management, realizing that THIS SHIT WILL NOT STAND, they instead charged Sgt. Esqueda with official misconduct for accessing and releasing the video. Took away his badge, kicked him out of the police union.

So, that's the Chicago way.  (Joliet is on the south west side of Chicago)

Did the mayor step up and say "Not on my watch"? Nope. Police union wouldn't allow the cops that killed Eric Lurry to get arrested, or fired. 

Did any elected official, like, oh, how about the Illinois governor let Joliet police know they were not doing the job the legal and correct way? Nope. 

How about the congress or senators for the state? Nope. Federal senators representing Illinois? Nope. 

Did anyone in the white house say anything? Nope. Not the smallest peep. 

You know, this soon after nationwide riots over the murder of George Floyd, I'd have been sure that someone - but no. No one remembers that police murder citizens, and are NOT allowed to torture and kill people.

But, here's one sign of hope that good people exist in Chicago! Illinois Attorney General’s office investigation led the city manager last month to fire Chief Dawn Malec. 

The case of Sgt. Javier Esqueda, a 27-year veteran of the Joliet Police Department, was featured in September as the first installment of the USA TODAY series “Behind the Blue Wall,” an investigation involving more than 300 cases of police officers over the past decade who have spoken out against alleged misconduct in their departments.

Esqueda faces up to 20 years in prison after department officials opened a criminal investigation into his actions and prosecutors charged him with four counts of official misconduct.

Members of the Joliet Police Officer’s Association on Wednesday voted 35-1 to expel Esqueda, a move first reported by The Herald-Ledger newspaper in Joliet. In a letter informing him of the impending vote last month, union leaders described his conduct as “reprehensible.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/11/12/union-ousts-police-officer-featured-in-usa-today-behind-the-blue-wall-series/6396601001/