We wanted to share this because it is pretty close to home and shit like this could turn Carpentersville, Illinois into the next Ferguson.
updated: 10/23/2014 5:03 AM
Carpentersville officials are refusing to abide by a ruling from Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office compelling them to release details about the arrest of a man who died at a hospital hours after an encounter with police.
Madigan's office determined a week ago
that reports and video of the Aug. 17 arrest of 31-year-old Joshua Paul
would not "obstruct an ongoing investigation" and should be released.
But village officials remain steadfast
in their refusal to turn over the information, citing an ongoing
investigation by the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Unit into
the circumstances surrounding Paul's death.
"We'll release it when we make sure we
have this the way we want it," said Carpentersville Village President Ed
Ritter. "This is not a story."
Paul's family's attorney, Brian
Perkins, believes his clients are owed an explanation about what
happened between the time Paul was pulled over for an unknown traffic
violation at 5:26 p.m. Aug. 17 and his death the next day at Advocate
Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
"We respect the law enforcement
process, but we would expect any law enforcement agency to comply with
an order from the attorney general's office, the highest law enforcement
office in the state," Perkins said. "It's all still very mysterious
what happened."
In an Aug. 25 open records request, the
Daily Herald asked for the arrest reports and any video footage
captured by the two arresting officers. The village denied the request
three days later, citing a number of privacy and bureaucratic
exemptions.
The newspaper filed a request for
review with the attorney general's public access counselor's office
later that day. Madigan's office ruled Oct. 15 that the village failed
to meet "its burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the
requested records are exempt" from the state's open records laws.
Assistant Attorney General Dushyanth
Reddivari wrote that the newspaper's interest "in disclosure of the
records to disseminate information to (the) public is aligned with the
public's interest in obtaining information regarding the manner in which
law enforcement officials perform their public duties; specifically, in
monitoring the use of force by police officers. There is a strong
public interest in information that sheds light on the manner in which
law enforcement officials perform their public duties."
Reddivari also disputed that releasing the information would jeopardize the investigation.
"Although the village claims that it
was instructed by ISP to withhold the records requested, it has not
provided any explanation or information from which this office could
conclude that disclosure of the records ... would obstruct an ongoing
criminal investigation by the village," Reddivari wrote
There is no mechanism for the state to
sanction public agencies that fail to abide by the public records
rulings from Madigan's office. The only recourse to attempt to obtain
public records when they are refused is to file a lawsuit, which would
not yield a quick remedy, legal experts said.
Meanwhile, village spokesman Dave
Bayless said the village intends to release the records once the state
police investigation has concluded.
But state police officials could not
say when the investigation was expected to conclude. Spokeswoman Monique
Bond said the state police would prefer the village wait to release the
public records until after the investigation is concluded, but "it's
Carpentersville's decision." Bond also said state police investigators
were waiting for a coroner's report.
But Kane County Coroner Rob Russell
said his office is waiting for the state police investigation to
conclude before a death certificate could be issued.
"We are waiting for the state police to
finish their investigation," he said. "There's still a lot of
information that's pertinent for us to determine a manner of death. As
soon as we can provide a cause and manner of death, we will do that."
Meanwhile, Paul's family and friends are left wondering why the village won't comply with the ruling from Madigan's office.
"Typically if you've got something to
hide, that's when you refuse to cooperate," said Stephanie Jaramillo, a
friend of Paul and his fiance, Jeff Bolek. "If they had nothing to hide,
they'd be able to provide that information."
Jaramillo organized an online fundraiser at gofundme.com to help cover Paul's funeral expenses. To date, $2,035 has been raised toward the $4,700 goal.
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