JOLIET (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Under mounting public pressure, the Joliet Police Department on Tuesday released hours of video related to the death of a man in police custody after he allegedly ingested drugs.
Edited video of the arrest of Eric Lurry Jr. has been circulated since early July, but the new videos show additional cameras located in other squad cars.
The videos were released amid growing controversy around the officers’ actions during Lurry’s arrest on Jan. 29 during an undercover drug sting.
Although officers were cleared of wrongdoing by an independent review by the Will County state’s attorney’s office, Lurry’s wife, Nicole, told reporters Sunday she believes police were responsible for her husband’s death.
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An undercover officer enters the backseat and says, “Wake up, b----,” before slapping him. The video’s audio then cuts out.
Officers are then seen shaking Lurry, hitting him and holding his nose. He lies still as the two officers continue to hold him in place. At one point, an officer puts his baton in Lurry’s mouth. A flashlight is shined in his face, and he eventually slumps over.
The Will County coroner’s office ruled his death an accident due to heroin, fentanyl and cocaine intoxication, saying that Lurry had over 10 times the lethal dosage of the combined drugs in his system.