JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) -- Video surrounding the death of Eric Lurry while handcuffed in the back of a Joliet police officer was revealed two years ago by a whistleblower – who also happened to be a Joliet police sergeant in charge of training.
Sgt. Javier Esqueda first blew the whistle to CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini – who recently sat down for another exclusive interview with Esqueda about the retaliation the sergeant says he's had to face.
Esqueda is also now retiring from the department.
"I was a good cop while I was there, but became the whistleblower to reveal something horrific," Sgt. Esqueda said.
Two years after blowing the whistle on his own department, Esqueda is calling it quits. He is retiring, and he never wants to wear the badge in Joliet again.
"I never ever fit in to that culture because I was different," he said.
Esqueda is the one who decided to make video from a Joliet police squad car public - detailing some of the final moments of the 37-year-old Lurry's life in January 2020.
Lurry's hands were cuffed behind his back despite a piece of plastic still in his mouth - possibly a baggy of drugs, says Esqueda.
Lurry was having a medical emergency - but officers did not call for an immediate ambulance. Instead, the video shows when officers arrive at the police station, an officer is seen on video slapping Lurry and saying, "Hey, wake up, bitch, let's get it over." Afterward, the video shows the officer held his nose shut.
"The hardest part of watching that...
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