The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office partially denied a Freedom of Information Act request for the arrest records of Darius Sullivan, saying the records would "create a substantial likelihood that a person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial hearing.”
Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office FOIA Officer Becky Powell did not respond to a phone call from the Kankakee Times on the matter.
In a letter denying the request, Powell noted the request was denied for two more reasons other than the one given above. Powell said granting the request could “interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law-enforcement proceedings conducted by a law-enforcement or correctional agency that is the recipient of the request,” and affect “active administrative enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body that is the recipient of the request.”
The denial comes in the wake of Sullivan’s arrest for the murder of Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic and the injury of her partner, Tyler Bailey, a newlywed who is in critical condition after being shot in the head.
Rittmanic’s last moments were captured on body camera, an account of which was shared with the public. Witnesses said Rittmanic begged for her life, saying ”you don’t have to do this” before being killed.
Prior to the slaying, Sullivan, 25, had been arrested 21 times and charged with 43 crimes throughout Kankakee County. Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey has been an outspoken opponent of no-cash bail, which makes it possible for offenders to commit deadly crimes when they should be behind bars because of previous offenses.
In a critique of the law set to take effect in 2023, Downey recounted his office’s problems with repeat offenders.
Sullivan and his girlfriend Sandra Harris face three counts of murder for Rittmanic’s death and attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm for the injuries sustained by Bailey.
Alerts Sign-up