Counts were dismissed in U.S. Illinois Central District Court in an amended federal civil lawsuit, which by the family of James F. Mellenthin, who died Jan. 27, 2023 during a high-speed pursuit by a McDonough County Sheriff's Deputy. In September 2024, Chief Judge Sara Darrow first dismissed parts of the suit.
Tammy Mellenthin, James' mother, filed the original suit Oct. 26, 2023 against McDonough County Deputy Evan Schmalshof, Deputy Nicholas Ruggio, the McDonough County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and McDonough County. On Jan. 30, 2025, Ms. Mellenthin filed an 11-count amended complaint, alleging that Schmalshof violated James' 14th Amendment right to due process by pursuing his vehicle in a manner that 'shocks the conscience and shows deliberate indifference or reckless regard for James' life, liberty and property such that one can infer he intended to inflict injury upon James.'
She also alleged her son's Fourth Amendment rights were violated through use of unreasonable excessive and deadly force, and alleged that McDonough County and the MCSO are liable for constitutional violations because they occurred as a result of McDonough County and the MCSO's failure to train their employees on how to conduct a lawful and appropriate vehicle pursuit.
Additional counts brought state law wrongful death claims against all four defendants; personal injury claims by James against all four defendants through the Illinois Survival Act and a claim that McDonough County and the MCSO have to indemnify Schmalshof and Ruggio.
In the August 2025 dismissal in response to the January 2025 amended complaint, Counts II and II were dismissed, and request for punitive damages were stricken. In the September 2024 dismissal, the defendants (Schmalshof, Ruggio, MCSO and the County) moved to dismiss Counts I through IV for failure to state a claim and argued the court should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. It was also argued that Schmalshof is entitled to qualified immunity for Counts I and II.
Count I was dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim, and Count II was dismissed, with other counts remaining at that time.
Count I alleged that Schmalshof violated the Fourteenth Amendment when he “unintentionally harmed James . . . in a manner which shocks the conscience.' In Count II, the plaintiff alleged that McDonough County and the MCSO were liable for the constitutional violations against Mellenthin because they occurred as a result of McDonough County and the MCSO's failure to train their employees on how to conduct a lawful and appropriate vehicle pursuit. In Count III, Ms. Mellenthin alleged that McDonough County and the MCSO are liable for 'James's constitutional violations because Schmalshof was acting pursuant to a de facto policy of the MCSO to violate the written vehicular pursuit policy by engaging in vehicular [p]ursuits for misdemeanors, lesser/petty offenses, and non-forcible felonies' and 'to drive MCSO vehicles in [p]ursuit with reckless disregard for the safety and life of the motoring public.' In Counts IV through X, wrongful death claims have been alleged against all four defendants; personal injury claims by James against all four defendants through the Illinois Survival Act and a claim that McDonough County and the MCSO must indemnify Schmalshof and Ruggio.
The Events of Jan. 27, 2023
According to police reports, on Jan. 27, the Macomb Police Department was called to a location on West Jackson Street in Macomb by a woman who had allegedly been traveling to escape from her children's father, identified as James Mellenthin of College Hills, IL, who had multiple domestic battery and aggravated domestic charges. Around 9:13 p.m. that evening, Macomb officers attempted to stop Mellenthin's vehicle, when he fled the scene and a pursuit ensued.
According to reports, Macomb police called off the pursuit due to public safety concerns and notified the McDonough County Sheriff's department of the situation. Sheriff's Deputy Evan Schmalshof, who was driving a 2021 Dodge Charger police car and while carrying a civilian, took on the pursuit from College Street through Macomb to Route 67, where it was reported that the deputy attempted to get ahead of Mellethin's vehicle to lay a spike strip.
After traveling at a high rate of speed, the deputy caught up to Mellenthin's vehicle, at which time the two vehicles collided causing Mellenthin to lose control of his vehicle, leaving the road and flipping before it came to a stop. The 35-year-old Mellenthin was pronounced dead at 9:32 p.m. Jan. 27. Toxicology reports showed methamphetamine, amphetamine, fentanyl and other substances in Mellenthin's system.
McDonough County State's Attorney Matt Kwacala asked the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor's Office for an independent review of the state police investigation. Following the review, Kwacala said no charges were being filed as there was insufficient evidence to convict Deputy Schmalshof of any crime.
Schmalshof was initially terminated following the incident; however, an arbitrator later ruled that Schmalshof be reinstated to his full-time position.
In arbitrator Thomas F. Gibbons' Dec. 8, 2024 ruling, he noted that Petitgout did not have just cause to terminate Schmalshof for 'conduct unbecoming' and that Schmalshof was to 'be immediately reinstated to his fulltime position as deputy with the McDonough County Sheriff’s Office with full back wages, benefits, and seniority rights, minus any earnings as mitigation since the time of his termination.'
Following his January 26, 2024 termination, Schmalshof and Schmalshof Family Transport filed a federal six-count lawsuit in March 2024 seeking damages in excess of $1 million. Their attorney alleged that Petitgout deprived the former deputy of his right to free speech and 'systematically oppressed Schmalshof in a variety of ways.' The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice in early March; however, on April 19, the attorney for Evan Schmalshof and Schmalshof Family Transport refiled the lawsuit in U.S. District Court. On July 25, a summons was served via email to the sheriff and the county. In the new lawsuit, Schmalshof, who is seeking in excess of $1 million in damages, brings forth similar complaints contained within the dismissed suit.
Setting the Record Straight
Tyler Mason, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Officer Look Up, was hired as a part-time Blandinsville Police Officer Jan. 16, 2013, nearly two weeks prior to the Jan. 27, 2023 crash, under Schmalshof, who was also serving as the village's part-time police chief
Schmalshof told the Community News Brief in an email requesting a correction to the "civilian ride along" reference in the latest Mellenthin lawsuit story that Mason was in his (Schmalshof's) patrol car that evening as part of Mason's police training.
In audio obtained via a FOIA request from the Illinois State Police interview with Tyler Mason on Jan. 31, 2023 regarding his recollection of the crash, Mason told ISP investigators he had not yet been sworn in as a police officer at the time of the ride-along.
ISP Investigator: "Are you hired there?"
Mason: "Um, technically, I guess, yes, but I haven't done any of the swearing in or anything like that."
ISP Investigator: "From your recollection, did Evan, at any point, when you were in the office building, was he requested by dispatch or Macomb or anybody like that to assist?"
Mason: "Uh, I don't recall hearing anything like that ... We could hear that he (Mellenthin) was taking off and wouldn't stop and he (Evan) said 'Let's see if we can go help.'"
Investigator: "Did you pass any squad cars in town?"
Mason: "I remember we passed two that had already stopped their pursuit. Their lights were off."
Deputy Evan Schmalshof provided the Community News Brief with contrasting information from the McDonough County Sheriff's radio traffic transcript, which Schmalshof supplied via his personal One Drive account, re: MPD and the pursuit. The information in the provided radio transcript also differs from Mason's account during the ISP interview.
For stories related to this lawsuit, The Community News Brief used information regarding the pursuit from records obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Knox County Sheriff's Office, which conducted the internal investigation and the Illinois State Police, as well as from the Illinois Central District Court of lawsuit document filed by the Mellenthin family. The lawsuit document is available on PACER, a federal court database.
According to the lawsuit (Case No. 4:23-cv-04187-SLD-RLH):
The MCSO vehicles driven by Ruggio and Schmalshof were equipped with the ability to hear radio transmissions between the Macomb PD officers and conversations between the Macomb PD and McDonough County 911. Although the Macomb PD did not request assistance from the MCSO, and Schmalshof and Ruggio did not request or receive permission to engage in a pursuit of the Pontiac, both departed from their location with their emergency lights activated. Schmalshof and Ruggio heard the radio conversations amongst the Macomb PD, including three communications directing the Macomb PD officers to “back down” and terminate the pursuit. Id. ¶¶ 37, 38.
