The City of Waterloo last week filed an answer to allegations contained in a lawsuit alleging misconduct by a Waterloo Police Department officer while responding to a fatal crash last year.

The original  wrongful death lawsuit, filed in March by the family of Crawford Bryant, 16, who died as the result of a single-vehicle crash on Sept. 1, 2024, named the driver of the vehicle, a family member of the driver and a liquor store as defendants for their involvement in the crash.

The driver, Trevor Stawizynski, was sentenced to nine years in prison in September following a guilty plea to a charge of  DUI (accident resulting in death).

 A separate lawsuit was filed in June by the family of a different minor injured as a result of the crash. 

The two lawsuits were consolidated in July for the purposes of discovery. 

In late August, an amended complaint was filed in both suits against the City of Waterloo, alleging WPD officer Justin Braun was guilty of a number of “willful and wanton acts and/or omissions,” including initiating a pursuit “when (Braun) knew or should have known that continuing the pursuit would result in serious injury or death.”

Additional items note the alleged failure of this officer to activate emergency sirens, communicate with dispatch and supervisors, secure and control the crash scene and timely and adequately render aid at the crash scene and failure of the city to train officers in pursuit procedures and supervise and oversee the pursuit. 

In its response to the allegations filed last week, the City of Waterloo denied several statements listed in the amended complaint and gave 11 “affirmative defenses” denying liability and asserting immunity in the matter.

In the filing, Waterloo admits to many of the facts of the case, but denies  language stating Braun pursued the vehicle “at a high rate of speed.”

The answer also denies an allegation that “at no time throughout the pursuit … did Officer Braun activate the emergency sirens” of his WPD squad vehicle.

The filing also denies any allegations of “willful and wanton” conduct on the part of Braun, including an alleged violation of department policies and procedures, failure to secure and control the crash scene and failure to “timely and adequately render aid at the crash scene.”

The City of Waterloo also denied allegations that it “failed to properly train its officers in rendering aid.”

The first six affirmative defenses deny liability in the matter “pursuant to… the Illinois Tort Immunity Act.”

The defense states an employee of the city “exercised discretion on a non-ministerial matter in determining whether or not to pursue” the vehicle and “did not behave in a willful and wanton act,”  thereby making the employee, and the city  by extension, immune.

The next two defenses assert the City of Waterloo and its agents had no control over the “willful and wanton” acts of Stawizynski, which “were an intervening and superseding cause and sole proximate cause of plaintiff’s alleged injuries and damages.”

The ninth defense states, “The aforesaid negligent acts and/or omissions of plaintiff’s decedent (were) the sole proximate cause of or, in the alternative, contributed to the injuries and damages claimed by Plaintiff as having resulted from the occurrence alleged in plaintiff’s third amended complaint at law.”

The last two defenses state the City of Waterloo – while continuing to deny liability – is entitled to a “set-off” of “against any verdict or award in favor of the plaintiff” or “against any verdict or award in favor of the plaintiff” should the court determine the city is liable for any of the claims. 

A status hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 5, 2026, in Monroe County Court.