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The Sonya Massey case was the tip of the iceberg

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Illinois

At least eight other deaths in the custody of Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office deputies and corrections officers have occurred under circumstances where officials’ conduct was called into question. In at least five of those cases, officers acted in ways that appeared to have violated local law enforcement policies as well as state and federal standards, according to a CBS News review of two decades’ worth of documents obtained through court records and Freedom of Information Act requests. Police in other communities who used similar tactics have sometimes been charged criminally.

In each of the eight cases that CBS News identified in Sangamon County, officers had been informed that victims were experiencing some kind of mental health or other medical issue at the time of their death. Their families alleged either excessive force or deliberate indifference to life-threatening medical conditions for people in pretrial detention.

Since 2004, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office has been the target of more than 50 civil rights complaints, including 20 related to policing and another 34 related to misconduct in the jail, which the sheriff also oversees, records show. The allegations include violations of due process, excessive tasing, the rape of a woman who called 911 for help, and arrests made with no legal grounds as tools of harassment or intimidation. The sheriff’s office disputed each one of these accusations.

In two of the civil rights cases, federal judges ruled against the sheriff’s office. And in 10 of them, the county agreed to pay settlements out of court for more than $3.6 million, without admitting fault. They paid another $9.6 million in legal fees, according to records obtained through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests. All of that money came directly from taxpayers, according to county board member Craig Hall, who has chaired Sangamon County’s civil liabilities committee for more than two decades.

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One deputy who has faced scrutiny for his conduct is Deputy Travis Koester. The complaints against him range from using excessive force to making bogus arrests and falsifying reports about the incidents in apparent attempts to cover them up. The 6-foot-1 officer also claimed an unarmed 83-year-old woman posed a threat to his physical safety for calling him a “tough guy” while he allegedly aggressively confronted and baselessly arrested her neighbor who was trying to deliver her some biscuits. Internal Affairs investigators substantiated the incident as an abuse of his position. Even some of his colleagues reported their inability to trust him and recommended his demotion.

In all, Koester has been the subject of 13 Internal Affairs investigations and at least five lawsuits in Sangamon County over 15 years. He was exonerated once; six complaints were substantiated, four allegations were deemed unfounded and another six were unsubstantiated. He denied every allegation but, in several cases, department investigators and a federal judge determined that he violated policies and civil rights laws. After a verbal apology from the deputy but no admission of liability by the county, it paid $45,000 to settle the most recent substantiated complaint in June 2024.

In two cases, judges ruled that Koester made unjustified arrests. He received no disciplinary action and, records show, he was later given pay increases. Illinois Judge John Madonia of the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court found that the deputy’s actions lacked “one iota of credible evidence,” characterizing the deputy’s own reports as “convolutedly crappy” and “factually incorrect.” Records show he received no disciplinary action.

Koester is currently one of Sangamon’s highest paid deputies, according to a review of county financial reports and personnel files obtained through public records requests. Koester did not respond to a request for comment through the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.

Lots more at this link.

Not long after I first moved to Springfield, local singer/songwriter Tom Irwin wrote a song about an inmate with a history of mental illness who died in the county jail under, shall we say, questionable circumstances.

That system has been bad for a very long time.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 11:15 am

Comments

Glad the sheriff retired but there’s clearly a lot more work to do.

Comment by Socially DIstant watcher Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 11:18 am
Some notable similarities to the Tribune’s reporting on recent events in the DuPage County jail.

Comment by Protocol Droid Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 11:31 am
Clearly lacking accountability and transparency in the sheriff’s office, and its costing taxpayers millions, and costing us a loss of trust in our LEOs. Cops should be self insured instead of the city covering their every goof and malfeasance. The higher premiums for poor performers would soon weed out the rejects and make room for better people who do the job right.

Comment by Give Us Barabbas Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 11:40 am
When people say “ACAB” and talk about bad apples it is because the vast majority of the collective institution of American policing has shown complete indifference to the obvious and glaring problems generated by completely unaccountable police agencies at all levels with little to no meaningful oversight.

So many people are quick to jump to make excuses for bad officers, or try to discredit the people complaining.

Just like with political corruption, we should hold police officers to higher standards than we hold regular people when it comes to back behavior. Instead, police are routinely held to lower standards in most jurisdictions.

(see also: qualified immunity. First constitutional violation is free.)

Comment by Homebody Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 11:47 am
Sheriff’s Merit Commissions (Commission) need to be replaced with Civil Service Systems. Under the Commission, as long as the Sheriff complies with anti-discrimination laws, has absolute discretion to pick from the candidate pool - the candidates are not ranked.

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 11:51 am
The common denominator here? Chairman Andy Van Meter and the very lopsided Sangamon County Board. I hear he’s actually knocking doors this cycle.

Comment by FIREDup! Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 12:02 pm
Sangamon County voters continue to send the same people and same party in huge numbers back to the County Board.

Comment by Give Me A Break Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 12:26 pm
Wonder who Koester’s related to?

Comment by Sir Reel Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 1:20 pm
“The common denominator here?”

Policing.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 1:37 pm
Much of the problems stem from the police union. Koester would be gone a long time ago if it weren’t for the union. If he was let go the County would be jammed up into the next decade with grievances. Remember this is the same union that filed a grievance against the County for firing Sean Grayson.

Comment by AuditSangamon Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 2:28 pm
- If he was let go the County would be jammed up into the next decade with grievances. -

I’m no defender of police unions but this is nonsense. Follow the proper procedures and get rid of the guy. Let them file a grievance and fight it.

Comment by Excitable Boy Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 2:50 pm
The thing is this is pretty common among sheriff’s offices and viewing it as a personnel problem only exacerbates it. Getting rid of one bad apple means they go a county or a town over and get the same job or if you replace a sheriff, the new sheriff is unlikely to be much better. Think about 102 counties with all but the top 20 counties below 100,000 people and about half under 30,000 and you see a whole lot of small sheriff offices without much expertise or accountability.

Comment by ArchPundit Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 3:25 pm
Mine is a strong law enforcement family, a rich history of public service that is long, strong, broad and deep. So hopefully it will be appreciated when I say that the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department’s litany of thuggery, abuse and incompetence sickens and disgusts me. There is a cancer there that has been growing for some time that needs to be dug up and torn out root and branch. A culture of bums, bullies and moronic imbeciles. It is a scourge and an abomination. A blight on the community and the betrayal of their calling and of good and decent law enforcement officers everywhere. Its.

Comment by Early Illinoisan Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 3:45 pm
…..well, let’s just let it go at that. With great respect for my fellow commentators above. This is a problem of leadership. It started that way and then it was just allowed to continue. Political cronyism by, for, and among some really intellectually challenged people.. Hiring of friends of friends and people who should never have been allowed to put on a badge or swear an oath. Besides the people of Sangamon County, the ones I think I feel the sorriest for are the men and women of character who are called to this profession and then find themselves assigned someone like Grayson or Koester as their partner on the street. Then they look to their leadership for help and find they’re the ones responsible for it all.

Comment by Early Illinoisan Monday, Oct 21, 24 @ 4:25 pm
Obviously I don’t think the police union is the entire problem start to finish. But it is inherently their job to protect bad cops. Even when the proper procedures are followed, grievances get filed and then it’s months or longer to actually get rid of a bad officer. All the while still getting paid to not work. It happens time and time again.

Comment by AuditSangamon Tuesday, Oct 22, 24 @ 4:46 pm