Less than a year after being fired as Flossmoor’s police chief, Jerel Jones was sworn in Monday as deputy police chief of Richton Park.
The meeting was attended by some Flossmoor residents who opposed his firing by the village in March.
Ron Alston, a Flossmoor resident and a member of the Fire and Police Board, attended the Monday’s ceremony and said seeing Jones sworn in was “restorative.”
“It was very rewarding,” Alston said. “It just speaks to the man that he is, it speaks to his integrity and his commitment to do the right thing. And that’s what I admired most.”
Alston, who said he became a close friend of Jones’ while he was Flossmoor police chief, said he and Jones would have lunch together, sharing thoughts and ideas about how to improve the village.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to implement that,” Alston said.
Jones filed a federal lawsuit against the village, Mayor Michell Nelson and village manager Bridget Wachtel alleging he was wrongfully terminated because of his race.
Jones said he was unable to be interviewed Wednesday afternoon, citing the pending lawsuit.
Jones, the first Black police chief in Flossmoor’s history, met with Nelson before his firing where he claimed he “felt he was being disadvantaged and held to a higher performance standard than his non-Black peers because of his race,” according to the lawsuit.
The village denied the allegations, claiming performance issues were the reason for his dismissal.
Alston said he believes Jones was brought in to “quell the attitudes and behaviors of the Black community” after the police killing of 64-year-old Madeline Miller in 2022 led to protests by village residents who wanted the officers involved to be held accountable.
“He filled that space and they saw a way to get rid of him,” Alston said.
Other village residents shared similar beliefs, and showed up in droves to March and April village meetings to protest Jones’ firing and ask for more transparency about why he was dismissed.
Board members voted March 18 to approve removing Jones as police chief, while several community members raised concerns about his dismissal and called for justice for Miller’s death, which some said could have been prevented with better officer training in de-escalation techniques.
Village officials said Jones was aware the first year was considered a “probationary” period during which his direct supervisor, Wachtel, was responsible for evaluating whether he met the village’s high standards.
Nelson could not be reached for comment.
According to a news release from Jones’ attorneys at the Disparti Law Group, the lawsuit is backed by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
A representative from the Chicago chapter read a statement from the organization’s president, Jeffrey Glover, when the lawsuit was filed stating, “it is very alarming that in a matter of months the administration determined that Chief Jones made ‘serious lapses in performance’ that rose to the level of severing his relationship with the community.”
“NOBLE stands in support of Chief Jerel Jones to ensure that his character and professional integrity are not the casualty of allegations and decisions made by Flossmoor’s administration,” the release stated.
Flossmoor recently appointed Carl Estelle, the city administrator for Country Club Hills, as the next police chief. Estelle began his new position of director of police services in Flossmoor on July 29, and will eventually transition into police chief once he becomes a sworn officer in Illinois.
Both the village and Jones’ attorneys are required to submit a joint status report by Dec. 2, updating the judge assigned to the case, Sara Ellis, on the progress of settlement discussions and fact discovery, court records show.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
