Charleston, Ill. (ECWd) –
After reviewing the video clip numerous times, boosting the audio and playing with the equalizer to reduce some of the background noise, it is clear to us that Judge Sullivan clearly said “I’m a Judge in the circuit. I’m just hoping to get home.” The key word in this phrase is “home” and not “off.”
According to the Charleston Police Department’s police report, obtained by us under the Freedom of Information Act, Officer Temple stated in her report, that “Matthew then lowered his voice and said, “I’m a judge with the circuit. I’m just hoping to get off.“”
What we now believe he actually said, was that he was just hoping to get HOME, not OFF. That one word makes a world of difference in how people perceive the intent of the statement.
We do not know what was happening on the ground at the time, and Officer Temple could have believed she heard him say “off” instead of “home” – but we were not there and cannot opine on what she believed she heard.
Below is the clip and statement in question.
We did livestream our capturing of the provided video to make sure people could watch it in real time as we captured it.
On another note, he was cordial to the police officers throughout the entire arrest process.
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