Joliet police show extended video to family of Eric Lurry, who died in custody

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- Six months after the death of Eric Lurry in Joliet police custody, his widow met with the police department and viewed an extended video of his arrest.

Nicole Lurry sat down with investigators to demand answer after her husband died in Joliet police custody in January.

"They helped murder my husband," she said Friday. "I did not learn anything different."

RELATED: Wife of man who died in Joliet police custody says dashcam video shows officers contributed to his death

Joliet police are defending the actions of the officers involved while the case is under investigation.

Family members say JPD investigators played a 20-minute video, an extended clip of the footage that was leaked by a sergeant in the department last week.

The family said the new clip has the officers' faces blurred. They also said there was no audio for several minutes.

RELATED: Joliet police sergeant who leaked video of man's death in custody placed on desk duty

Joliet police said they showed the family video from three cameras and only blurred the faces of undercover officers.

"I believe they cut the audio out because there is no telling what they were saying to him," Nicole Lurry said.

The family's attorney was not allowed into the police department to view the footage; police stopped him at the door.

"I thought that was totally unacceptable," Lurry said.

The medical examiner's report says Lurry died of fentanyl-induced intoxication, but Lurry's widow said the video shows officers suffocating her husband and jamming a collapsible baton down his throat. The video also shows officers removing several plastic bags from his throat, which police say contained drugs.

In an extensive statement, Joliet police earlier this week said in part, "Eric Lurry's death was caused by the ingestion of fatal amounts of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, and did not result directly from any action or inaction by an officer of the Joliet Police Department."

The family and Joliet's mayor are calling for an investigation by the Attorney General's Office. The mayor believes there is more evidence that has not yet been released.

The family has also hired a private doctor to conduct another autopsy.