Attorney Who Defeated Joliet Police In 2022 Trial Files New Lawsuit

JOLIET — Chicago attorney Ian Barney, who defeated the city of Joliet in federal court in 2022 in an excessive force lawsuit involving Joliet police officer Nick Crowley, has just found another case involving a questionable arrest made by the Joliet Police Department, this one naming officers Jennifer Gruber and officer Jack Desiderio as co-defendants.

Barney filed his lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of 43-year-old Jason Heath, a Joliet man who was arrested by Desiderio and Gruber in addition to being tasered by Desiderio, according to the court filings. The Joliet police officers are accused of false arrest, false imprisonment, battery, malicious prosecution and excessive force.

"The charges against Jason were predicated on false and fictitious statements made by Defendant Officers Gruber and Desiderio in police reports and to fellow Joliet Police Officers and county prosecutors," plaintiff's attorney Ian Barney asserted in his federal lawsuit filing. The lawsuit also indicated that the plaintiff is being represented by co-counsel attorney Jordan Marsh of Northbrook.

Barney's lawsuit lays out the following events surrounding his client's arrest by the two Joliet police officers on charges of aggravated battery to a police officer and obstruction of justice against a police officer:

On October 29, 2023, shortly after 2 a.m., Heath was at his house in Joliet, with his wife and children. During the middle of the night, Heath and his wife had an argument, "an infrequent occurrence, which caught the attention of their children," his lawyer pointed out. "In response to hearing the argument, one of Jason’s children contacted the police."

Officer Gruber arrived first at Heath's house around 2:15 a.m. She entered the house on Baltz Court and went upstairs, as Jason Heath stood in the upstairs hallway.

Minutes later, Officer Jack Desiderio arrived at the call. He also headed upstairs.

"Almost immediately upon joining Defendant Officer Gruber upstairs, Defendant Officer Desiderio unholstered and deployed his taser, striking Jason," Barney's lawsuit informed the federal judges. "As a result of being tased, Jason fell to the ground, sustaining injuries."

Attorney Barney outlined that "Prior to being tased, Jason was not attempting to flee and posed no threat to the safety of Defendant Officers or others ... Jason did not resist arrest ... Jason did not push, shove, hit, strike, or otherwise make any intentional contact with either Defendant Gruber or Desiderio."

Officer Gruber is accused of compiling false statements in her arrest report against Heath, his lawyer noted, such as: "Jason pushed and/or “chest bumped” Officer Gruber; "that Jason was hiding his arm from Officer Gruber and was attempting to conceal himself in a bedroom; and "that Jason repeatedly disobeyed orders from Defendant Officer Desiderio," the lawsuit stated.

As for Officer Jack Desiderio, Barney has accused the young Joliet officer of including the false statement that "Jason refused multiple times to comply with Defendant Officer Desiderio’s command to show his hands prior to being tased .... The false and fictitious statements made by Defendant Officers Gruber and Desiderio resulted in Jason’s arrest and caused him to be charged with the criminal offenses of aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting arrest," Barney declared in the lawsuit.

After his arrest on Oct. 29, 2023, Heath was kept inside the Will County Jail for more than 24 hours before being ordered released pending trial, his lawsuit noted. Then, on Sept. 30 of this year, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius found Heath not guilty of his two criminal charges following a bench trial.

Lawyers representing the city of Joliet have been a given a time extension until Jan. 10 to file their response to the claims raised in the federal lawsuit involving the Joliet Police Department. Joliet has retained the Bolingbrook law firm of Tressler to represent Officers Gruber and Desiderio.

As for Barney, the plaintiff's lawyer, he was the focus of a May 2022 Joliet Patch article headlined, "Officer Crowley's Excessive Force Costs Joliet's Taxpayers." A 2021 decision by City Manager Jim Capparelli and Joliet's City Council not to reach an out-of-court settlement in a 2018 excessive force lawsuit brought against Joliet police officer Nick Crowley ultimately cost Joliet's taxpayers more than $220,000, a Joliet Patch analysis found.

In 2018, Barney filed a civil rights lawsuit against Crowley and Joliet stemming from the arrest of Joliet resident Christopher Simenson on May 28, 2016, in downtown Joliet. After four days of trial testimony in 2022, a jury seated at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago awarded compensatory damages of nearly $8,000 to Simenson. More importantly, because the plaintiff won, Joliet was also forced to pay the legal bills for Simenson's lawyer topping $100,000.