A former Bloomington Police sergeant says the city is intentionally blocking a hard look at the former assistant chief who recently settled a separate wrongful arrest case. City officials say they "strongly dispute" the allegation.
A motion filed in federal court Tuesday alleges the city never intended to scrutinize then-Assistant Police Chief Paul Williams or Chief Jamal Simington in the aftermath of a June traffic stop involving Williams.
Williams retired shortly after being placed on administrative leave related to that incident, when he allegedly detained two men unlawfully without probable cause. The City of Bloomington settled that case without admitting liability.
The new filing is tied to an unrelated lawsuit by former Sgt. Timmothy "Ty" Carlton, who alleges he was terminated for, among other things, raising concerns about what he perceived as an illegal order to racially profile white drivers. The city claimed Carlton broke department policies by sharing confidential information with suspects. An internal police investigation resulted in Carlton’s firing, but did not meet the threshold for criminal charges.
Williams probe could muddy the Carlton case
The motion in Carlton's case is a request to extend the deadline for evidence collection that includes witness interviews and documents. Attorney Julie Galassi asks for an additional 120 days based on new evidence that conflates her lawsuit with the one that’s just been settled.
Galassi has requested documents from a closed-door session during an August city council meeting that took place the day before the City of Bloomington issued a public statement about Williams being placed on administrative leave.
“Certain City of Bloomington council members wanted Williams investigated due to numerous instances of misconduct, including Williams’ actions that created a retaliatory environment for BPD officers,” the motion says. “On Aug. 17, 2026, during a closed session of the Bloomington City Council, it was determined that any investigation into Defendant Simington and Williams would be harmful to the City in defending this case as well as the other federal case filed based on Williams’ abuse of power.”
In a recent interview, City Manager Jeff Jurgens told WGLT it would resume an internal investigation of Williams that was paused while settling the lawsuit filed by the two DoorDash drivers from the June incident.
The attorney in that case, Jared Kosoglad, has called for an independent investigation into Williams’ conduct and the city’s response, beginning with that Aug. 17 executive session and the next-day public statement alerting the media of his lawsuit.
Those statements are now referenced in Carlton’s lawsuit.
“Not only was any investigation into Williams and Simington killed before it could ever be started, no investigation has been resumed,” the filing says. “A ranking officer of BPD has stated there will never be an investigation into Williams’ conduct.”
It's unclear how Carlton or his lawyer would know what was purportedly said in a closed session of the city council, which by definition is not open to the public. The filing also does not identify the "ranking officer." Galassi did not return a message asking to elaborate, and WGLT has not been able to independently confirm either claim.
Such a probe could have exposed behaviors negatively impacting the city's ability to defend Williams, a veteran who wielded a lot of power in the Bloomington Police Department, in the Carlton case.
Emails obtained by WGLT through a Freedom of Information Act request show Williams, in August 2023, directing senior officers to monitor traffic stop data and shuffle patrol officers to different areas of the city to reduce the possibility of being perceived as targeting Black and Hispanic drivers. Contemporaneous notes recorded by Sgt. Ivy Thornton on Oct. 5, 2023, included in federal court filings, state Williams was "'super pissed' about his email."
"He said don't think he won't find out who made that public," the handwritten notes say, on one page referencing media reports and a FOIA request of those emails.
In a May 7 deposition obtained by WGLT, Williams was asked about that FOIA.
"So is there any connection between the FOIA the department received by the media regarding the metric data and the creation of an examination of who was looking at the metrics?" Galassi asked.
Williams said, "I was not aware of a FOIA at all."
City denies allegations
In a statement to WGLT, the City of Bloomington "strongly disputes allegations that it sought to prevent or terminate an investigation into Paul Williams."
A spokesperson said the city initiated a formal request for an investigation on Aug. 6, when Williams was place on administrative leave. According to the statement, the city was scheduled to interview Williams as part of that process, but he retired before that could take place.
WGLT obtained emails indicating a Rosemont-based attorney requested cell phone video of the incident from the DoorDash drivers' attorney on Aug. 19. One of those emails states the City of Bloomington "engaged my services to provide them legal advice as it relates to an internal employment investigation regarding the actions of Assistant Chief Paul Williams."
That "employment investigation," however, could be a separate process from any internal police investigation noted by the ranking BPD officer referenced in the motion. Assistant Police Chief Todd McClusky, who leads the department's Office of Professional Standards, told WGLT it is customary for citizen complaints to be investigated by police internal affairs.
He declined to comment specifically about any investigation into Williams, noting he was not in charge of internal affairs until Chad Wamsley's departure.
The city says it has engaged an independent law firm to "examine operational issues brought up as a result of the June 14 incident, including evaluating any policy violations, reviewing how those issues were addressed internally, and providing recommendations as appropriate."
"We are disappointed that such allegations are being treated as established facts while the documented timeline is overlooked."
A message left with Williams’ attorney was not returned. In response to a request for comment from Mayor Dan Brady, a city spokesperson said a scheduled WGLT interview with City Manager Jeff Jurgens on Thursday "should provide an opportunity to discuss these matters."
City council members Abby Scott and John Danenberger said they could not comment on pending litigation. All other city council members have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
