Chicago Woman Suing Skokie Policer Officer for Personal Injuries

A Chicago woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the Village of Skokie and a Skokie police officer, claiming that when she was arrested and taken to jail, the police officer shoved her head first into a bench in a jail cell, which led to serious personal injuries. The woman was arrested in March of this year after she was pulled over while driving and police discovered that she was driving under the influence of alcohol. In addition to the drunk driving charge, the Chicago woman was also charged with resisting a police officer. According to the initial police documents, the woman resisted police officers by holding her hands against the sides of the entrance to the jail cell in an attempt to refuse to go into the cell. Since the charges were initially filed against the young woman, the county has dropped the resisting arrest charges against the Chicago woman.

When the Chicago woman was taken to jail, she was initially searched while inside the jail cell and then the officers attempted to remove her for further processing. However, on the way out of the cell the officer being sued allegedly takes the woman’s arm and shoves her back into the cell, causing her to fall forward and strike her head and her face on the bench that was in the cell. This altercation was caught on videotape and has just been realized by the victim’s attorney. The lawsuit filed by the Chicago woman against the police department alleges that the officer who pushed the woman made false statements to other police officers about why he pushed the young woman, which led to multiple false reports being written by the police department. These false statements may be where the resisting police officer charge originated from, and the incident being caught on videotape may be what led to this portion of the charge being dropped.

The young woman had to undergo reconstructive surgery on her face and have a titanium plate inserted because multiple facial bones were shattered. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Village of Skokie has issued a statement that the village has deep concern for the woman’s condition and that the police officer that was involved in the incident has been placed on station duty, meaning that he will have no contact with the public while this issue is being further investigated.

Police officers are supposed to protect the public and treat anyone that is being detained with respect and not inflict unnecessary physical pain on the people that come into their station. When police officers fail to treat people with the respect that they deserve, they need to be held accountable for their actions. If you or a loved one was treated unfairly by a police officer or other county official, please contact our Illinois attorneys office today to discuss what legal options may be available to you and your family.

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