Lucasfilm Supports Sgt. Esqueda, Eric Lurry Whistleblower

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department's role in the death of Eric Lurry, a 37-year-old Black man, has drawn national attention since a whistleblower revealed details and video of the incident earlier this month. Police Chief Al Roechner responded by putting that whistleblower, Sgt. Javier Esqueda, on desk duty and launching a criminal investigation against him. But, this week, Esqueda got a new ally — and a powerful ally it is. Lucasfilm — yes, the filmmakers of Star Wars — have come out in support of the sergeant, Joliet Patch has learned in another exclusive.

Lucasfilm mailed a several Star Wars autographs and action figures to Sgt. Esqueda, along with a one-page letter that you can read in its entirety at the bottom of this article.

Part of the letter from Lucasfilm reads: "Hello Javier, we were deeply saddened to learn about the tragic death of Eric Lurry and the resulting actions taken against you for uncovering the unspeakable circumstances that led to his death. Once we learned that you are also a member of the 501st Legion — and hence an extended member of the Lucasfilm family —we felt compelled to reach out to offer our unwavering support to you and your own family."

A 27-year veteran of the Joliet Police Department, Esqueda's job is to train rookie cops in the field. He is well-regarded and highly respected in the Joliet community, but as it stands, Roechner and his administration are punishing him for his role in drawing national attention to Lurry's death.

Around Joliet, Esqueda is known as "The Star Wars officer." Esqueda is a huge fan of the Star Wars movies — one of the biggest in the entire community, according to people who know him. Every year at the Joliet Public Library's annual Star Wars Day, he dresses up as a Storm Trooper.

This week's typed letter from Lucasfilm goes on to state: "We at LucasFilms greatly admire your integrity and courage, Javier, and are proud of the heroic example you have set for others — especially youngsters —who might look to your actions as a guide when confronted with their own moral dilemmas and challenges."

On July 7, Joliet Patch published a story that included Chief Al Roechner's reasoning for putting Esqueda on desk duty and stripping him of his police powers.

"Sergeant Esqueda was placed on administrative duty on July 6, 2020, due to him being under a criminal and an internal investigation," Roechner's statement read. "This was opened in regard to his unauthorized access to video evidence that was involved in a criminal investigation, which could have compromised the case. Sergeant May was also placed on administrative duty the same day pending the results of an internal review. For the sake of transparency, both internal investigations are being handled by an outside firm at my request."

This summer, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil and Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow cleared Joliet Police Sgt. Doug May and others of criminal wrongdoing in Lurry's death, indicating that Lurry died of a drug overdose rather than suffocation.

However, squad car video shows that after Lurry began to overdose in the backseat, Sgt. May smacked Lurry in the head, called him a derogatory name, and held his nose shut for nearly two minutes.

Lt. Jeremy Harrison, who has worked closely with May in the drug unit for many years, was supervising May at the time of Lurry's death. He has remained on active duty.

A few weeks ago, Sgt. Esqueda told CBS Chicago Channel 2 that Sgt. May's conduct may have caused Lurry to suffocate to death. Furthermore, Esqueda suggested to CBS that the Joliet Police Department may have tried to cover up Lurry's death.

Esqueda told CBS Chicago that someone at the Joliet Police Department appeared to deliberately turn off the squad car's audio system moments after Sgt. May hit Lurry in the head with what Roechner's administration called "a stunner" and then yelled, "Wake up, b****!"

Several minutes pass in the video before someone at the Joliet Police Department re-activates the squad car's audio system. By that time, Lurry is dying as he is loaded into an ambulance.

At the time of the incident, the squad car was operated by new recruit Andrew McCue and field training officer Jose Tellez.

At the time the audio was turned off, four officers were in the immediate presence of Lurry, according to the in-car video: Tellez, McCue, Harrison and May.

So far, the Joliet Police Department has not explained why one of the officers turned off the audio system as Lurry was dying in the back of McCue's squad car.