Attorneys for the Hoffman Estates police officer who fatally shot a resident filed notice of appeal in federal court, seeking to reverse a ruling the officer used excessive force.
Last month, a jury awarded the estate of victim Ricky Allen and his two young sons $545,000 in damages. Allen was fatally shot outside an apartment complex in Hoffman Estates on June 27, 1991. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office ruled the shooting was justifiable because Allen was allegedly threatening another man with a knife at the time.
Hoffman Estates and Officer Marylu Redmond filed a notice of appeal Friday in the Circuit Court of Appeals.
A central issue in the trial in December was the refusal by Redmond and the village to produce notes and details of counseling sessions Redmond had with a village social worker after the shooting.
U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur then told the jury to assume the documents contained information that could be detrimental to Redmond’s case.
“The whole issue of the confidentiality that we fought over during the course of the litigation is the central issue (in the appeal),” said Greg Rogus, an attorney for the village and Redmond.
The court should have recognized the privilege between the social worker and Redmond just as Illinois state law does, Rogus said.
Also, Rogus questioned the relevance of the counseling sessions to the trial as well as whether the jury should have been told “anything at all” about Redmond’s counseling.
The case and appeal could have wide implications for law enforcement personnel statewide, said Hoffman Estates village attorney Richard Williams.
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“Police will suffer here,” Williams said. “They won’t seek (counseling) help if they know their records could show up in court.”