Nude photos of woman in police custody shared by four officers, Illinois lawsuit says
A woman is suing five Illinois officials, including four police officers, whom she accuses of taking and sharing nude photos and videos of her while she was in police custody.
The woman, who chose to remain anonymous and is referred to as Jane Doe in court records, filed a lawsuit against the city of Ottawa, the Commissioner of Public Health and Safety James Less, the Chief of the Ottawa Police Department Brent Roalson, and police officers Stephanie Nelson, Kari Whalen and Scott Harden, according to the complaint filed Feb. 1.
The Ottawa City Government and Ottawa Police Department did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment. No defense attorney was listed in court records.
According to the lawsuit, the woman was arrested and detained by Whalen and Harden on “allegations of driving under the influence” on April 24. She was taken to the Ottawa police station where cameras filmed her “partially and totally nude,” the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ Eastern Division said.
Using their personal cellphones, the defendants are accused of filming and keeping nude videos and photographs of the woman from the police station’s camera footage. The five city employees “texted, emailed and otherwise published and disseminated these nude videos and photographs amongst each other and the general public,” the complaint said.
The woman was identifiable in the photos and videos, the lawsuit said. She did not consent to having nude photos and videos taken nor did she consent to these materials being shared.
The defendants “knew or should have known” the woman did not give her consent and their actions had a “high probability” of causing her “severe emotional distress,” the lawsuit said.
The “extreme and outrageous conduct” of city officials violated the woman’s constitutional rights to privacy, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment and freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, the lawsuit said.
Because of these violations, the woman “suffered and continues to suffer” from “emotional distress, public embarrassment, and reputational harm,” according to the lawsuit.
The city of Ottawa is also accused of “failing to adequately train, supervise, control and discipline its officers such that its failure to do so manifests deliberate indifference.”
The woman is suing for compensation.
Ottawa is about 80 miles southwest of Chicago.
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