Lawyer: More women claim illegal strip-searches
October 8, 2013
By Juan Perez Jr.

The attorney for a woman who alleged she was forcibly stripped by LaSalle County deputies after a DUI arrest last spring said other women have come forward claiming similar conduct, and he has asked a federal judge to bar destruction of potential video evidence.

"We have reason to believe there are other women who have been illegally strip-searched by the sheriff's office," attorney Terry Ekl said Monday.

Ekl filed an emergency motion for a protective order, asking that a judge force LaSalle County authorities to preserve all video recordings from inside their jail. He is expected in court on the issue Tuesday.

"It is believed that the video recordings will be destroyed, either routinely or otherwise, if they are not ordered preserved," Ekl's motion read.

A LaSalle County official declined to comment Monday.

"We simply don't comment on pending litigation," said Todd Martin, chief civil assistant with the state's attorney office.

Ekl's client, Dana Holmes of Coal City, cited jailhouse video last week in a lawsuit against LaSalle County authorities. Holmes, a 33-year-old convenience store clerk, alleged the sheriff's department and four deputies violated her civil rights and caused her emotional harm by stripping her naked without legal justification for such a search.

Arrested for drunken driving late May 18, Holmes was stripped hours later by four sheriff's deputies — three men and a woman — after an altercation during a pat-down search. A sheriff's incident report said Holmes was uncooperative while being searched.

Strip searches are permitted under state law if officers have "reasonable belief" that the subject is hiding a weapon or controlled substance on their body. Illinois law requires strip searches to be conducted by an officer who is the same sex as the subject and cannot be observed by people not conducting the search.

Holmes' lawsuit argues that the Sheriff's Office violated state laws on strip searches and fails to train, supervise and discipline officers on proper procedures.

After Holmes' lawsuit was filed, Ekl said his office was contacted by a handful of women who complained of unlawful strip searches. Ekl, a former prosecutor, said his office must determine the circumstances behind each complaint and evaluate their credibility. It's also not clear whether any additional jailhouse strip-search video exists.