Personal Injury Law

City of Chicago Sued for Civil Rights Violations After School Security Guard Strip Searches Teen Girls

In Illinois, the parents of two teenagers are suing the city of Chicago, the Chicago Board of Education, an unidentified police officer, ASPIRA Inc., and the school?s principal for allegedly violating their daughters' civil rights. The Chicago Sun Times reports that another student was also summoned for the strip search, but her family are not plaintiffs in this case.

The girls, 14, were taken from their classrooms on December 20, 2007 and strip searched by a female police officer who was looking for a lighter that may have been used to start a small fire at the high school. The lawsuit claims that the officer, who was a uniformed security guard, reached under the teenagers' blouses and told them to take off their pants and underwear. The police officer also allegedly told them to ?squat and cough? for a cavity search. At one point, the guard allegedly put her hand on her gun to intimidate the teenagers. One of the girl?s mothers says her daughter felt violated, embarrassed, and ashamed because of the incident.

Chicago Public Schools is conducting an investigation into the search, as is the Chicago Police Department's Internal Affairs Division. ASPIRA has been warned that CPS could withdraw its charter if corrective steps are not taken.

The girls were reportedly never informed that they were suspects in the fire incident and their parents were never contacted prior to the search. According to the plaintiffs? Chicago attorney, this violates the teenagers constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. He also contends that the security guard did not have probable cause to search the girls.

Intimidation as Police Brutality
Intimidation is a form of police brutality that can lead to emotional and psychological trauma and can be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Chicago police officers and other law enforcement officials are supposed to protect, not violate one's civil rights.

Mom: I don't send my kids to school to be strip searched, Chicago Sun Times, January 7, 2009

Strip search of teens in Chicago school under investigation, Boston Herald, January 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Communities United Against Police Brutality

Shielded from Justice, HRW.org

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on January 10, 2009 (boomark / email).