Family accuses Rockford police of failing to aid dying man in lawsuit

From Jeff Kolkey's article in the Rockford Register Star

ROCKFORD — Ivy Freeman was holding her brother's 1-year-old son as friends and family gathered for a memorial balloon release May 3, 2020, in the 1400 block of W. Jefferson Street.

A cousin had been killed in a crash on Interstate 90. She and her family, including her younger brother, Phillip Trammell Jr., were there to pay their respects. But what had been a peaceful vigil devolved into chaos when she saw at least two men with guns appear in the crowd.

"One had a handgun and one had a shotgun, and I seen Phil turn to me and he was like, 'You guys got to go!"' Freeman said. "It was me, my younger sister and his baby. He started pushing us away."

Freeman, a certified nursing assistant, said her brother was shot in the back.

And in a wrongful death lawsuit filed last week, her family says that he might have survived if Rockford police had administered appropriate first aid and gotten him help right away.

Instead, the family argues in its lawsuit that officers forced Freeman to stop caring for her brother, flipped Trammell onto his back which exacerbated his condition and questioned him about what had happened.

The lawsuit filed on behalf ofTrammell's family by lawyer Craig Sandberg seeks an unspecified amount of money in excess of $50,000. It names the city of Rockford and police officer Anthony Curran as defendants.

City Legal Director Nick Meyer declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing a policy against speaking about pending litigation. Requests for comment from Chief Carla Redd and Curran were referred to Meyer.

'Is my baby OK?'

As the coronavirus pandemic gripped the world, violence surged in Rockford. The night Trammell was killed, as many as 30 gunshots rang out near West Jefferson Street as gunmen exchanged fire, according to a Rockford police report.

As the panicked crowd scattered, Freeman said she carried the baby and ran with her sister to a garage behind her aunt's house nearby. When the gunfire stopped, she told her sister to get in a car and leave with the baby.

Freeman went back to see what happened to her brother.

Trammell, 24, was lying on his stomach in the street.

Freeman didn't immediately see the blood, but when he asked her to lift his jersey, she found a gunshot wound in his back.

She put pressure on the wound, called 911 and told Trammell to keep quiet and not to move until paramedics arrived.

Freeman worried that if her brother moved or talked too much, the bullet - if it was still in his body - could move, puncture a lung or damage other organs. She also didn't know if his spine was damaged and she feared moving him could make it worse.

"He asked, 'Is my baby OK?' I told him 'He's fine. I'm calling for help. Don't worry.' I made him be quiet," Freeman said. "I told him help was coming."

Father of three

Freeman said that she and her brother were part of a large family who were born and raised in Rockford. She was 2 years older, and they were close. Trammell attended Haskell Elementary School and is an Auburn High School graduate. She said he played baseball, football and basketball.

Growing up, he was willing to play dolls with her and she played basketball with him - the only girl on the boys team at a local community center. They joked they were like Shaq and Kobe.

"He was a great athlete," Freeman said.

And Freeman recalls Trammell telling her that he was determined to be a good father.

Family: Victim deserved better

Freeman said police, including Officer Curran, arrived about five minutes after she reached her brother. They ordered her to move away from Trammell and forced her into the back of squad car, she said.

"I explained I was a CNA and told him not to move or flip Phil until the EMT people arrived,"Freeman said. "At the time, I may have been a little aggressive toward them, so they pushed me back. I never saw Phil again after that."

Paramedics had a hard time reaching Trammell because the road was blocked, Freeman said. Bystanders who wanted to help were told by police to stay back, family members say.

"I just feel like there was something else better that could have been done," Freeman said.

Demetrius M. Shivers, 27, of Rockford, is believed to have shot Trammell as he exchanged fire with other gunmen. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of second-degree murder. Other charges including first-degree murder were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.

‘Just help him’

The lawsuit argues that police have an obligation to aid shooting victims like Trammell and that he may have survived if he had gotten the help he needed. When Officer Curran arrived on Jefferson Street where Trammell was shot, the lawsuit argues he acted with "deliberate indifference" to the man's injuries.

It says Curran "immediately rolled Phillip" onto his back. It argues no effort was made to expedite medical attention and that the officer didn't immediately administer first aid.

According to the lawsuit, Trammell told Curran "Help me," as Curran asked who shot him. A bystander called out "No one knows who shot him. Just help him," the lawsuit says.

Sandberg, the family's lawyer, said it wasn't until after Trammell stopped breathing that Curran administered chest compressions.

Click here to read the full article on the Rockford Register Star website.