A federal court has dismissed a second lawsuit filed against McDonough County and its sheriff by a former deputy who was fired.
In dismissing the lawsuit, District Judge Sara Darrow of the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division, found that Evan Schmalshof’s latest lawsuit “is virtually identical to a complaint previously dismissed by this Court for failure to state a claim and is deficient for the same reasons.”
She entered the order on Jan. 13, 2026. Schmalshof was given 14 days to amend the complaint.
Schmalshof claimed Sheriff Nick Petitgout violated his free speech rights, inflicted emotional distress, and caused other harm.
He also claimed the sheriff interfered with his duties as police chief for the village of Blandinsville.
Schmalshof fired for being “untruthful”
The lawsuits stem from a high-speed chase that ended in a crash that killed James Mellenthin, 35, of Cottage Hills, Ill. The crash happened on Route 67 between Macomb and Industry on Jan. 27, 2023 while Schmalshof was pursuing Mellenthin.
Sheriff Nick Petitgout fired Schmalshof about a year later, saying he did not tell the truth following the crash.
Petitgout said that in Schmalshof’s report, the deputy said he intended to pass Mellenthin and deploy spike strips to stop him. But Schmalshof later told investigators he had no intention of deploying the strips.
“By being untruthful you discredited yourself as a law enforcement officer” Petitgout wrote in his termination letter to Schmalshof.
Mellenthin’s family has filed a federal lawsuit against the county, the sheriff’s department, Petitgout, Schmalshof, and another deputy.
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