‘We want justice’: Vigil, protest held for man who died in Joliet police custody

The grieving family of David Malito and supporters called for the firing of a Joliet police officer and an independent investigation of the incident that led to Malito’s death.

A prayer vigil and protest was held on Monday at Shell gas station, 401 S. Larkin Ave., the same location where officers on Dec. 25, 2024, had found Malito, 39, after receiving a 911 call from him about someone trying to kill him.

Officers attempted to detain Malito after he was behaving erratically, according body camera video of the incident. Malito then fell to the ground with Officer Christopher Meza, who placed his knee on the back of Malito, who was laying on the ground on his stomach with his hands cuffed.

After Meza noticed Malito was “turning purple,” his body was turned over and he was given Narcan before paramedics arrived and continued further treatment.

Malito later died at a Joliet hospital. A forensic pathologist would rule his death was the result of cocaine intoxication.

David Palacios, Malito’s father, told a crowd of roughly 40 people at Monday’s protest that his son was crying and begging for help.

“He’s begging for his life. ‘Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me!’ Well, what else he’s supposed to say to a police officer that’s supposed to serve and protect,” Palacios said.

Kimberly Malito, the mother of Malito, said she does not wish anyone to experience the pain she’s felt since her son’s death.

“It’s painful and my son did not deserve this at all. He was a good boy, he worked, he was in the union,” Kimberly Malito said.

At Monday’s vigil and protest, Malito’s family remembered him as someone with a “contagious smile,” a hard worker, and fighter who loved everyone. Malito was a proud member of Teamsters Local 179 and worked for Con Global, according to his obituary.

Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans has defended his officers’ treatment of Malito. He said the video and forensic evidence “clearly indicate” his officers “acted with compassion and urgency” to assist Malito and try to save his life.

Evans said Malito was handcuffed to prevent injury to himself or others based on his “agitated and unpredictable behavior” until paramedics arrived.

Evans said a “thorough and independent investigation” by the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force and the findings of the Will County Coroner’s Office determined Malito died from cocaine intoxication.

“The Will County State’s Attorney Office reviewed the case and found no evidence of wrongdoing or misconduct by the Joliet Police Department officers involved,” Evans said.

Evans’ statement was criticized by former Joliet Township Trustee Karl Ferrell, who claimed Evans “tries to undermine the things that we’re doing when his officers commit murder.”

Ferrell also criticized the integrity of the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force and told the crowd, “We got to get rid of the [task force].”

He said Meza should be fired immediately and face charges.

“In order to do that, we got to get rid of a system where the police cover their own tracks. The [task force] is made up of a police officers that investigate police officers that they go to the bar with after work,” Ferrell said.

When asked about the internal investigation of the Malito incident, Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English said the preliminary findings of an administrative review panel at the police department “found the officers operated within current policy and training.”

The police department is “not considering any changes in response to overdose incidents,” English said.

Ferrell brought up the findings of an investigation from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office that found the Joliet Police Department has a pattern of unlawful policing enabled by the department’s “broken accountability systems.”

Nicole Lurry, the widow of Eric Lurry Jr., 37, was also at Monday’s vigil. She gave her condolences to Malito’s family and said her husband was killed in 2020 by Joliet police officers.

She said her husband’s nose was held closed and his “oxygen was cut off.”

“[Malito] was down on the ground. His oxygen was cut off,” Nicole Lurry said.

She said the Joliet Police Department “has to be held accountable.”

As with Malito, Eric Lurry’s death was investigated by the task force and the coroner’s office, the latter of which ruled he died from the ingestion of fatal amounts of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. No officers were charged over the incident.

Nicole Lurry has an ongoing federal lawsuit that claims the officers squandered multiple opportunities to save Eric Lurry’s life and the actions of Joliet Police Sgt. Doug May, who smacked him and pinched his nose shut, increased the likelihood of his death.

Tycee Bell, who ran for Joliet mayor in 2023, said she had many questions about the incident that led to Malito’s death.

“Did they treat him like a person or just try to neutralize another issue in our city?” Bell asked.

She said Malito was a “human being” and a “great individual.”

“His life mattered and tonight in the face of pain, we choose to remember him with power and purpose,” Bell said.

Anthony Malito, the twin brother of David Malito, said, “We want justice because we don’t want this to happen to nobody else.”

He said, “I love you, David,” while standing next to his father.

“I love you David. We’re not going to forget about you. Something’s going to happen out of this. This will never happen to somebody else again, starting here from today,” Anthony Malito said.