David Malito, 39, Died From Joliet Police Officer's Excessive Force: Federal Lawsuit

JOLIET, IL — Ian Barney, a Chicago trial lawyer who has had several successful outcomes suing the Joliet Police Department and Will County Sheriff's Office, just filed a new federal lawsuit against Joliet and three Joliet police officers in connection with last year's Christmas morning death of 39-year-old Joliet resident David Malito. He died after being detained by officers working the overnight shift who responded to the Shell gas station at Larkin and McDonough Streets

The lawsuit was brought by David Palacios, the father of David Malito. Even though Malito was not accused of committing any crimes, he died after being detained by Joliet police officer Christopher Meza, who is named as one of the co-defendants. Two female officers are named in the lawsuit, Olivia Nowak and Andrea Espinosa.

"The failure of defendant Officer Nowak and defendant Officer Espinosa to intervene to stop defendant Officer Meza's use of deadly force was a direct result of JPD’s custom, noted in the (Office of Attorney General) report, that 'officers do not intervene to prevent excessive force.' These aforesaid systemic failures by defendant, city of Joliet, were the impetus behind the violation of David Malito's rights as described .... Although David Malito was suffering from an obvious mental health crisis and was not suspected of having committed any crime, defendant officers treated his symptoms as non-compliance requiring lethal force rather than a medical emergency requiring a measured and de-escalatory response," Barney stated in Tuesday's federal lawsuit alleging a host of civil rights violations.

Malito Was Cooperative, Compliant, Telling Joliet's Officers He Loved Them: Lawsuit

Tuesday's federal lawsuit indicates that last Christmas, at 4:25 a.m., Malito made a telephone call to 911, requesting emergency services from inside a Shell Gas Station at 401 S. Larkin Ave., in Joliet.

"David Malito was in distress and, in the aforesaid emergency telephone call, he reported to the Joliet Police Department dispatch that he was being threatened," the lawsuit noted. "Defendant Officer Meza and defendant Officer Nowak responded to David Malito's 911 call and arrived at the aforesaid Shell Gas station ... on or about December 25, 2024," court documents reflect.

The plaintiff's lawyer indicated that Malito, "was visibly in a distressed state" when officers Meza and Nowak found him inside the Shell convenient store and Malito "was cooperative and compliant, including, but not limited to, putting his hands in the air and allowing Officer Meza to search him."

Malito told the two officers "that someone inside the gas station was trying to kill him. David Malito was sweating, and his speech was pressured and rapid." Officer Nowak searched the store "in an attempt to locate whomever David Malito was referring to, but she was unable to locate any such individual," the lawsuit outlined.

"Defendant Meza explained to David Malito that no one else was in the store except for the Shell station employee, but David Malito remained distressed. David Malito then began making statements which indicated that he was suffering from a mental health crisis and was in a state of psychosis, including displaying extreme fear of a bee and continuing to express his belief that someone was trying to kill him, despite evidence that these circumstances did not exist."

According to Barney's lawsuit, Malito tried to flee the interior of the gas station "convenience store due to his irrational belief that someone in the store was trying to kill him." Officer Meza grabbed Malito's arm as he tried to exit the store, in trying to detain him; Meza informed Officer Espinosa that Malito "was on something" and he requested her help to place Malito in handcuffs, the lawsuit maintained.

"As he was being placed in handcuffs by Defendant Officers, David Malito yelled for help, told the officers that he loved them, and pleaded with them to not kill him," Barney's lawsuit revealed. "Defendant officers were able to secure one handcuff on David Malito, but David Malito's fear of being harmed escalated as defendant officers attempted to secure the second handcuff.

"As a result of this fear, David Malito attempted to escape the handcuffing by pulling away ... David Malito then either fell to the ground or was pushed to the ground by defendant officer Meza, landing in the vicinity of a gas pump ... defendant officers together, then immediately placed David Malito face down, into a prone position, and began attempting to place the second handcuff on his right wrist. Throughout the aforesaid attempt to handcuff him, David Malito continued to tell defendant officers that he loved them and asked them not to kill him."

David Malito Loses Consciousness After Officer Meza Kneels On Him: Lawsuit

Eventually, Officer Nowak sat on Malito's legs, and she instructed Malito to "breathe for me" and "relax," the lawsuit outlined. About one minute later, the officers managed to handcuff Malito's hands behind his back, and once the second handcuffs were placed on him, he stopped resisting entirely, the lawsuit said.

"David Malito was unarmed ... Despite that David Malito was not resisting and posed no threat, Defendant Meza forcefully placed his knee onto David Malito's upper back and, using his body weight, placed significant pressure onto David Malito as David Malito laid face down on the ground while handcuffed ... Defendant Meza’s action of kneeling on David Malito's back significantly impeded David Malito's ability to inhale and exhale," the lawsuit asserted.

Barney alleges that Officer Meza continued kneeling on Malito's back for about 75 seconds, even though Malito's breath was shallow, he was not resisting and posed no threat. At that point, Malito was not able to speak and he became limp, the lawsuit said.

"Defendant Officer Meza continued to kneel on David Malito's back despite clear signs that David Malito was in respiratory distress and losing consciousness," Barney argued.

"Defendant officer Nowak and defendant officer Espinosa were present for and aware of defendant officer Meza's use of force, and took no actions to prevent, stop, or mitigate (his) actions," the lawsuit declared. "As a direct and proximate result of defendant Officer Meza's actions, including, but not limited to, placing David Malito in a prone restraint position while handcuffed and kneeling on David Malito's back, David Malito went into acute respiratory distress and, ultimately, cardiac arrest."

The lawsuit noted that Officer Meza "subsequently realized that David Malito's face had turned blue ... Defendant officers then rolled David Malito onto his side and, rather than attempting Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation CPR on David Malito, they administered Narcan (naloxone), a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, despite any knowledge of the type of drug or drugs that David Malito had consumed, or whether he had consumed any drugs at all ... David Malito had not consumed any opioids."

When Joliet's Fire Department paramedics arrived at the Shell station in their ambulance, they requested Malito "be uncuffed, placed him on his back, and began performing life saving measures, including CPR ... David Malito was subsequently loaded into a Joliet Fire Department ambulance transported to Saint Joseph Medical Center, located in Joliet, Will County, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead at 5:14 a.m. on December 25, 2024," the lawsuit advised.

Barney's lawsuit points out that on Dec. 12, 2024, just two weeks before Malito's death, the Illinois Attorney's General's Office released its multi-year civil rights investigation into long-standing unlawful police practices at the Joliet Police Department.

"Instead, acting pursuant to the JPD custom of 'escalating early,' defendant Officer Meza grabbed David Malito and resorted to high-level physical force, including prone restraint and compression of David Malito’s back with his knee, mirroring the unconstitutional patterns identified by the OAG. The aforementioned OAG report explicitly found that JPD’s 'crisis intervention practices are still not adequate to prevent unlawful uses of force against people with behavioral health disabilities.'

"The OAG found that JPD officers engage in a pattern and practice of aggravating and escalating situations, resulting in force that could have been avoided. Further, the OAG specifically found that JPD supervisors 'rarely identify, much less correct' unreasonable force, sending a message “from the top down that just about any level of force can be justified without consequence," Barney argued in Tuesday's 28-page lawsuit.

Last April, Joliet Patch broke the news revealing that the Joliet Police Department was absolved of wrongdoing by the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force in connection with Malito's early Christmas morning death at the Joliet Shell gas station. Plainfield Police Commander Kevin McQuaid, who is with the task force, told Joliet Patch at the time that none of the three Joliet officers at the scene did anything inappropriate in regard to the events that led to the death of Malito. The Will County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy, and its findings showed that Malito died as a result of an accidental cocaine intoxication, McQuaid explained.

None of the Joliet police officers called to the Shell station to deal with Malito had any role in roughing him up or pushing him to the ground, McQuaid pointed out. Malito died less than 50 minutes after he called 911 after running from his damaged car to the Shell gas station at Larkin Avenue and McDonough Street.

"You could tell by his interactions that he was paranoid or in a manic state," McQuaid explained. "It's just an unfortunate situation."

Related Joliet Patch coverage of David Malito's Death:

Autopsy Reveals Cause Of Death For Man In Joliet Police Custody

Senator Questions Joliet Police Role In David Malito's Death, Reveals What's Next

'Justice For David Malito' Protest Calls For Firing 1 Particular Joliet Police Officer