Last week a federal jury awarded Jacqueline Fegan $1.5 million dollars in a civil rights lawsuit brought against four Chicago police officers.
The incident that gave rise to the lawsuit occurred in May 2006. Ms. Fegan, a supervisor for Chicago’s Traffic Management Authority, refused to immediately discard a parking ticket that was issued on a police officer’s personal minivan. The officer and three other Chicago officers became angry and warned Ms. Fegan that she better not so much as jaywalk. As Ms. Fegan turned to leave the scene, she was aggressively handcuffed and arrested.
In its defense, the city of Chicago argued that Ms. Fegan had stepped into heavy traffic and that as a result the officers were justified in arresting her. Ms. Fegan argued that she was falsely arrested, she was falsely imprisoned, she suffered a battery and she suffered the intentional inflection of emotional distress.
The jury agreed with Ms. Fegan and awarded her $1.25 million dollars for emotional distress and more than $300,000 for medical bills and lost wages.
If you, or a loved one, has been falsely arrested or treated unfairly by the police then we encourage you to contact an experienced Illinois civil rights lawyer as soon as possible for a free consultation.