Retired Cop Reportedly Paralyzed From Neck Down in Fall at Gun Range

JOLIET, IL — A retired Chicago police officer was reportedly left paralyzed from the neck down after a fall on his way into the Will County Sheriff’s gun range.

The retired cop, Joseph Mescall, is suing Will County, the sheriff’s department and the Tri-River Police Training Region.

Mescall had gone to the Laraway Road gun range in February 2016 to qualify for his Illinois Retired Officer Concealed Carry card, his lawsuit said.

Mescall was in the “structure adjacent to the gun range,” the lawsuit said, when he tripped on a step and was injured.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by his stepdaughter, Mescall was about to take his turn at the gun range when he fell, “hyper-extending his neck.”

Mescall was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and then to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, “where a spinal decompression and cervical fusion were performed,” the page said.

“In spite of the efforts made by the entire medical team, the final news was devastating,” the page said. “The trauma caused by the accident severely damaged his spine resulting in paralysis from the neck down.”

Mescall was a 33-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, according to the page.

image via Joe Mescall's Medical Fund GoFundMe page