Channahon 911 Dispatcher's Death: Flores Testifies About Funeral (2024)

During his lawsuit deposition, ex-Crest Hill Police Officer Phil Flores was asked about the March 2016 rape allegation made against him.

Posted Sun, Jan 30, 2022 at 9:05 pm CT|Updated Sun, Jan 30, 2022 at 9:48 pm CT

The 23-year-old Channahon woman died from a gunshot to her head, while she was nude, in her bedroom. Flores was also inside her apartment at the time of her death on Feb. 13, 2018. Harer was a 911 dispatcher in Plainfield. Flores was an officer with Crest Hill's Police Department.

The Channahon Police Department investigated Harer's death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound and in December 2018, Channahon announced that Harer's death was ruled a suicide, clearing Flores of any criminal wrongdoing.

Flores never worked a single day as a police officer after Harer's death. He spent 13 months on paid leave and resigned in March 2019.

"I was not notified of any memorial services," Flores testified, according to lawsuit deposition transcripts obtained by Joliet Patch. "I found out two days after the funeral was held."

"Did you attempt to find out when her funeral was going to be held?" asked Bonjean, the New York lawyer representing Kevin and Heather Harer, the parents of Samantha Harer.

"I didn't know who to contact," Flores answered. "I was told not to speak to her parents."

"Sir, you knew she was dead, right?"

"Yes," Flores agreed.

"You knew that she had to be buried, right?

"Yes," Flores replied.

"You knew that there probably would be a funeral held for her, correct?"

"Correct," Flores answered.

"And can you explain why you attended no funeral or memorial services for Miss Harer?"

"I was not invited or notified of them," Flores responded.

Flores testified he had his brother deactivate his Facebook account shortly after Harer's death.

"Did you ask anyone to find out when Samantha's funeral was going to be?" Bonjean inquired.

"No, because I didn't have a way to contact anybody," Flores testified. "They took possession of my cell phone. So I had no numbers to contact anybody I previously contacted."

Although Flores surrendered his iPhone to detectives for the death investigation, his police department provided him with a pre-paid cellular phone to use, he testified.

Meanwhile, Channahon Police Chief Shane Casey told Flores not to have any contact with Samantha Harer's parents. "He basically told me the day of," Flores testified.

"Did you ask your chief or your deputy chief at any point to find out when Samantha's funeral or memorial service was being held?"

"No," Flores testified.

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Did you want to attend her funeral?"

"I did."

"And again, I'll ask if you can answer, why didn't you ask your chief or your deputy chief to find out when there was going to be a funeral for her?"

"I don't know," Flores testified.

"Did you ask your chief or your deputy chief whether or not you could attend her funeral?"

"No, I did not, because like I said previously, I was told not to speak to her parents, so I didn't know how her folks would question it. I was already ordered not to speak to her parents."

"But you didn't ask to attend her funeral, right?"

"Correct," Flores testified.

"Have you ever reached out to Heather or Kevin Harer to express your condolences about their daughter's death?"

"No, I did not," Flores testified.

"Did you make an effort to reach out to them after the criminal investigation was closed, or the death investigation was closed?"

"I was advised by my attorney not to make contact, Joe Mazzone," Flores replied. "At this time, it was my union's attorney."

"Does Mr. Mazzone still represent you?"

"No, he does not," Flores answered.

Flores Testifies He Has No Drinking Problem

"Let me ask you this so we can get on the same page," Bonjean remarked. "Do you consider yourself to have a drinking problem?"

"No," Flores replied.

"Are you a recovering alcoholic?"

"No."

"Are you current alcoholic?

"No."

"Have you ever considered yourself to be an alcoholic?"

"No."

"Have you ever been diagnosed with any type of alcohol use disorder?"

"No."

"Do you know why you were found unfit for duty in February 2019?"

"Because the doctor said I had alcohol in my system," Flores testified.

"It wasn't just that," Bonjean told Flores. "He said he diagnosed you as having an alcohol use disorder. Were you aware of that?"

"No," Flores testified.

"Did you ever read the evaluation that he prepared?"

"Some of it."

"You didn't notice that in the evaluation, that he diagnosed you as having an alcohol use disorder, moderate to severe?"

"No."

"You disagree with that?"

"I do," Flores testified.

Flores Was Not Recommended For Hiring

Flores spent a decade in the U.S. Marines after graduating from Joliet West High School. In the Marines, Flores served two 10-month tours of duty at Camp Fallujah in Iraq. Flores joined the Crest Hill Police Department on Jan. 3, 2012.

"As part of the hiring process, did you undergo a psychological evaluation?" Bonjean inquired.

"I did," Flores testified.

"Do you know whether you were recommended for a position with the department?"

"I was told by Chief (Dwayne) Wilkerson that the psychiatrist did not recommend me because of my traffic citation."

"Right. According to your psych evaluation, your personality evaluation, you had 11 traffic violations, right?"

"Yes," Flores testified.

"And you also were below average in your mental abilities, correct?"

"I don't know."

"Did they tell you your scoring on your quantitative reasoning and your verbal reasoning?"

"No."

"Did Crest Hill nonetheless offer you a position with the Crest Hill Police Department despite the fact that the individual who did your psych evaluation recommended that you not be given a position?"

"Yes, I was given a position."

"Who hired you?"

"Chief Wilkerson."

"And did Chief Wilkerson explain to you why he was still going to hire you notwithstanding the fact that you were not recommended by the person who did the psych eval?"

"He said that he looked at all my traffic citations and that none of them were serious, and I only had three speeding tickets at a very young age and the rest of the citations were minor things for like expired registration, no seatbelt and minor things like that."

"Did you tell Chief Wilkerson that you had any prior driving while intoxicated incidents?"

"Yes, I told him a couple of times that I did ... He had asked me if I learned anything from the situation, and I told him that I did."

"Did any of those result in any types of convictions?"

"No."

Flores Denies 2016 Rape Allegation

"So at any time in your life have you had an order of protection or no-contact order taken out against you?" Bonjean asked.

"Yes," Flores replied.

"How many times in total did that occur?"

"One time."

"Was that by Kristen Kurtz?"

"Yes."

In 2016, Kristen Kurtz filed a police report alleging that Flores sexually assaulted her during her sleep after they were drinking alcohol at Bobby's Tap on Plainfield Road in Joliet.

In 2018, Kurtz gave Joliet Patch permission to publish her name regarding the rape allegation. She was 30 at the time of the allegation and has since moved away from the Joliet area.

"Ms. Kurtz made an allegation against you back in 2016, is that correct?" Bonjean asked.

"Correct," Flores testified.

"Were you intoxicated that night?"

"Yes."

"Were you highly intoxicated that evening?"

"No."

"Did you drive your motor vehicle that evening?"

"I did."

"And were you intoxicated to the point that witnesses would be able to identify you as being intoxicated?"

"I don't know."

"And after she made an allegation against you for sexual assault, you were put on administrative leave, right?"

"Correct."

"And she made an allegation to the Joliet Police Department initially, correct? And then to Crest Hill, am I right?"

"Correct."

"And it is your testimony that her allegation that you sexually assaulted her is fabricated, right?"

"Correct."

"And in fact fabricated in that you had no sexual contact with her at all in 2016 on this evening, right?"

"Correct."

"Did you spend the night at her house?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"We had been drinking so late in the morning and I was tired and she said, 'Why don't you just go upstairs and pass out, take a nap or sleep in the guest bedroom.' So I went upstairs and went to sleep in the guest bedroom."

"So you fell asleep in the guest bedroom?"

"Correct."

By early 2017, Flores learned that the Illinois State Police declined to bring criminal charges against Flores in connection with the rape allegations.

Flores was reinstated to Crest Hill's police force after a long period of paid leave.

Police reports Patch obtained in 2018 reflected that "Kristen M. Kurtz stated Phillip Flores had come to the bar and they began a conversation about their past being roommates that had ended badly and (Phil) wanted to apologize for some of his behavior towards her ... Kristen stated that once they finished up at Bobby's Tap ... Phil Flores told her he would follow her home also to make sure she made it back ... Kristen Kurtz stated that once she was home she passed out in her bed and awoke sometime later to find a male, later identified as Phillip Flores, sexually assaulting, laying on top of her. Kristen Kurtz related that when she first woke up, she was still groggy and at first thought it was a dream ... but then realized that it was not a dream, that it was Phillip Flores and told him to get off of her, that she told him 'No,' that he was not do this to her.

"Kristen Kurtz advised that Phillip Flores complained to her that now he has 'blue (testicl*s)' and she told him that it was not her problem and to leave her residence," Crest Hill's police reports show.

During his December 2020 deposition in the Harer lawsuit, Flores was asked if ever sat for an interview during the criminal investigation into the rape allegation.

"No."

"Why not?"

"On the advice of my attorney he said, 'We are not going to give an interview.'"

"You essentially invoked your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent while the criminal investigation is going on, right?"

"Right."

"Why didn't you sit for an interview for an internal affairs investigation after there had been a declination to prosecute you?"

"I don't know. Something my attorney just said we wanted to do."

"Let me ask you, were you ever notified or instructed or told in any way that as part of the internal affairs investigation you were required to make a statement regarding the Kristin Kurtz allegation?"

"Not that I can remember."

"So as you sit here today you have never made any statements formally to police officers, to department heads, the prosecutor, anybody, regarding Kristin Kurtz's allegation against you. Am I right?"

"Correct."

"In fact, this is the first time that you are giving testimony under oath about the allegation that Kristin Kurtz made against you. Am I right?"

"Correct."

"And to the best of your understanding, your boss, the chief of your department, never required you to sit for an interview regarding those allegations, correct?"

"That's correct."

"Would you have sat for an interview if it was required as part of the administrative investigation?"

"Yes."

"Now, you ultimately were disciplined in connection with that case, though, centered around your use of alcohol, right?"

"Correct."

"Violation of laws, rules and regulations, bringing discredit to the department, conduct unbecoming, correct?"

"Correct."

"And you had a 30-day suspension along with a year of zero alcohol use and alcohol evaluation counseling, right?"

"Correct."

"And also you were expected to have random testing, but that never occurred, correct?"

"Correct."

Related Patch coverage of Samantha Harer case:

Samantha Harer's Gun Also Contains Phil Flores' DNA: Lawyer

Flores Broke Into Harer's Channahon Apartment: IA Report

Samantha Harer: 'I Hope This Doesn't Turn Out Like Drew Peterson Case'

Listen: 911 Call From Samantha Harer Gunshot Death

'It Was A Homicide That Should Have Never Happened:' Ciolino

Samantha Harer Federal Suit Crumbles, Flores Prevails