Investigators Looking Into Woodstock Pot Arrest That Led Officer To Resign
CHICAGO (CBS) -- McHenry County's state's attorney-elect said prosecutors are investigating a traffic stop by a Woodstock police officer who has now resigned - a traffic stop where the officer said one thing and the dashcam audio showed another.
It was a stop made in August where Woodstock Police said they found 17 pounds of marijuana in a car. WBBM's Steve Miller reports.
The officer who filed the police report said he called for the canine unit because he smelled marijuana in the car.
But the officer, Eric Schmidtke, resigned Oct. 17 after his report and dashcam video of the arrest had after discrepancies, Woodstock Police confirmed this week.
Driving the car: 31-year-old Philip Williams.
"When the canine officer arrived on the scene, there is an exchange where she (Officer Sharon Freund with the K-9 Unit) told Officer Schmidtke, if you smelled the marijuana, that gives you probable cause and you can search the vehicle," said Louis Meyer, Williams' attorney.
"And he (Officer Schmidtke) clearly states: I can't smell anything. I don't smell any marijuana in the car," Meyer said.
Meyer has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers and the city of Woodstock.
The incoming state's attorney of McHenry County says he's investigating and his review of a state police report on the matter should take another two-to-three weeks.
