ELMHURST, IL – A trucker has sued Elmhurst and Glendale Heights for a drunken-driving arrest that she said was based on an Elmhurst officer’s false evaluation.
Last month, Jolly Walls, a Cook County resident, filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming police violated her rights.
According to the lawsuit, a Glendale Heights officer stopped Walls in October 2023 without probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Walls then underwent field sobriety tests.
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An Elmhurst officer was brought in to evaluate her, placing her in a darkroom and searching her nasal cavity without probable cause or reasonable suspicion, the lawsuit said. He falsified his report to reflect that Walls was under the influence of drugs, the lawsuit said.
Walls also gave a urine sample, which was tested for illegal drugs. It came back positive for caffeine, according to the litigation.
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In July, DuPage County prosecutors dropped the case against Walls.
In response to Patch’s inquiry, Elmhurst spokeswoman Kassondra Schref said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
In an interview, Walls’ lawyer, Zaid Abdallah, said his client may have swerved when she grabbed something off the floor.
“It looks like they really wanted a DUI,” Abdallah said.
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He said she did fine on the field sobriety tests. But the Elmhurst officer put her in a darkroom with a fluorescent lamp and then wrote an opinion that she was under the influence, the attorney said.
“She had caffeine in her body. The state did the right thing when they dismissed the case,” Abdallah said. “I just feel terrible for her. I have been doing this for a decade and a half, and she’s one of the nicest persons I have represented. She is a calm person. You can see in the arrest she was very calm.”
As a result of the arrest, Walls, who has a commercial driver’s license, was out of work for a while, Abdallah said.
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