It's good to have neighbors who care enough to call the police when they see suspicious behavior around an empty house. But let's look at the definition of suspicion: "The act or an instance of suspecting something wrong without proof or on slight evidence" (Merriam-Webster, emphasis added).
Okay, so the alert Chicago citizen who called 911 and allegedly told an operator "the house next door to mine is empty and there's some people trying to break in to the garage" was merely suspicious. Fair enough, maybe someone should check it out.
The cops who responded, however, failed to conduct due diligence and even (allegedly) fabricated some information (CBS/Sun-Times) when they arrested Jonathan and Ashley Cooper, who were merely performing property preservation services.
Apparently the Coopers, now plaintiffs in a five-count lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, furnished a written work order from their client requesting the vacant house be locked and winterized. And the cops even ran their names through the system, which at least showed they were clean. Jonathan Cooper, by the way, is a former Bellwood cop.
But the mere suspicion of wrongdoing was enough to cuff and stuff the couple - without reading them their Miranda rights, it's worth noting. Ashley Cooper was strip-searched, while husband Jonathan was charged with burglary and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (he had an unloaded handgun in his glove box, which he had every right to possess).
One of the cops, Officer Kevin M. Ryan, allegedly tried to cover his butt by providing false testimony at a hearing to determine probable cause, claiming the gun was loaded and uncased and that the Coopers never provided the work order justifying their presence on the premises.
Charges were ultimately dropped, but the humiliated couple are now suing for false arrest and imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and malicious prosecution.
- City, cops sued in false-arrest claim (Sun-Times)
- Knowing When An Arrest Is Legal (FindLaw)
- Police Misconduct and Civil Rights (FindLaw)
- Quiz: Emotional Distress (PDF, FindLaw)
- Chicago Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
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