Will County to pay $2.75 million settlement over 2022 fatal shooting

Will County government will pay $2.75 million for the dismissal of a federal lawsuit involving a sheriff’s lieutenant who was not charged over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man who initially took hostages at a bank.

The lawsuit filed by the family of Gregory Walker, 65, of Crest Hill, who surrendered to the police and was mortally wounded when Will County Sheriff’s Lt. John Allen shot him in the chest with a rifle.

Walker’s death occurred on May 10, 2022. But it would take two-and-half years for a decision on whether Allen should face any charges.

That decision was placed in the hands of a special grand jury, which decided last January not to charge Allen. The panel considered evidence presented to them by Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s Office.

While Allen will not face criminal prosecution, his actions nevertheless led to a federal lawsuit that Will County will now pay a $2.75 million settlement to avoid further legal costs.

A copy of the settlement agreement was obtained by The Herald-News in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The internal affairs investigation – which will decide the fate of Allen’s employment – did not begin until after the special grand jury reached its decision.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office contacted Chicago law firm Laner Muchin to assist with the internal affairs investigation. The firm has represented Will County in federal civil cases and one of its attorneys was once the chief legal counsel for the Will County Executive’s Office.

The firm has contracted a retired law enforcement officer to handle the investigation.

That investigation still remains ongoing, according to Kevin Hedemark, sheriff’s office spokesman.

Hedemark provided a statement in response to the settlement that said Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley extends his “sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Walker.”

“The Will County Sheriff’s Office takes every loss of life seriously and seeks to avoid it wherever possible,” according to Kelley’s statement.

Walker was armed with a revolver on May 10, 2022, when he took hostages at Fifth-Third Bank in Romeoville.

Sandra Mendoza, one of the hostages, told The Herald-News in 2022 she heard gunshots and saw Walker yelling at people to bring out chairs so he could barricade the door. Walker then told the hostages to call the police to the bank, she said.

Mendoza said Walker described difficult events in his life, such as his mother’s death, and that he wished to die himself.

Mendoza shared a video with The Herald-News, where Walker could be heard saying, “You’re going to be alright ma’am. Stop crying, OK? You have my word. You will walk out of here. I promise you.”

Walker eventually did exactly that.

The hostages were released unharmed and Walker disarmed himself and surrendered to the police, according to video that wasn’t released by Illinois State Police until Jan. 27.

For years, the state police would not publicly disclose the videos of the incident at the request of Glasgow’s office.

At one point in the video, Walker is on his knees with his hands behind his head.

He then gets up and walks toward the glass door entrance before he was shot in the chest, according to the video. He fell on the ground and writhed in pain as the glass door next to him shattered into pieces from the bullet, as seen on the video.

Following the incident, Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said the president of the union representing Allen reported the shooting occurred “as a result of a weapons malfunction.”

But the rifle functioned normally with no issues, according to testing done by the FBI in 2022 and a Kentucky company called Nth-Level in 2023.

The FBI report made no mention of the shooting supposedly occurring because of a sympathetic, or involuntary, trigger pull.

But that issue was raised as a possibility in a report from Nth-Level, which was solicited by Glasgow’s office to conduct further testing of the rifle.

The report suggested Allen’s effort to close the bolt with one hand could have caused the other hand to “sympathetically contract and pull the trigger.”

The company Tenicor posted a video in 2020 where an instructor is teaching youths the concept of sympathetic response and the importance of keeping the finger off the trigger while handling a firearm.

Records from the sheriff’s office show Allen has received extensive training in firearms and completed a master instructor course regarding use of force.