Pregnant Woman Sues After Police Used Stun Gun On Her
Updated 6/14/2012 at 8:30 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 30-year-old pregnant woman filed suit Thursday after officers used a stun gun on her during an argument with police earlier this month.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, police used a stun gun on Tiffany Rent on June 5, in the parking lot of a Walgreens drugstore at 103rd Street and Michigan Avenue in the Roseland neighborhood.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports
Podcast
"She pulled up in a handicapped space. The police came behind her, and she said they blocked her in. She asked them, were they writing her a ticket, and they told her yes," said the woman's sister, Sharita Rent. "She tried to explain to them what happened, as far as her little getting out of the car, and her trying to calm her down and console her, and the guy gave her a ticket for $200. She ripped the ticket up, tore it in half, and threw it on the ground."
Tiffany Rent admitted a police officer gave her a ticket for parking in the handicapped spot, and she tore it up, but she insisted that what came next was not justified.
"I got scared, and closed the door. I didn't hit him. I didn't mean to harm him, or anything. He Tasered me through the window," she said.
The police report alleges Rent cursed the officer and threw the shredded ticket in his face, then tried to drive off, despite the officer's warning that she not move.
After officers shocked her with a stun gun, Rent was taken into custody and treated at Roseland Community Hospital, where she claims other officers mocked her.
"They were laughing. They said … I know she's pregnant. Then one of the other officers said I deserve it. Another officer said, 'Go get Jesse Jackson,'" she said. "They were all laughing, like it was so funny."
Also arrested was Joseph Hobbs, Rent's boyfriend and the father of the child, who scuffled with officers. He was also charged with resisting arrest and simple assault.
The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the entire incident.
