The Death of Joseph McCormick

In April 2019, Joseph McCormick was arrested on a warrant filed by the Loves Park Police Department and taken to the Winnebago County Jail where he remained for seven months. On November 30, 2019, Joseph reportedly spoke with his father by phone and did not appear suicidal or depressed, saying something to the effect of, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow dad.”

The following day, Joseph was found hanging in his cell. An autopsy conducted by Winnebago County Coroner Bill Hintz ruled the death as asphyxia due to hanging. Joseph’s family later described the Winnebago County Jail as “a place to die.”

This incident was the 20th case investigated and deemed justified by the Winnebago Boone County Integrity Task Force, the 22nd deadly force incident of the 2010s, and at least one of two deaths inside the Winnebago County Jail investigated by the task force in 2019. It was also the ninth deadly force incident since Tom McNamara took office.