Plaintiff:
Gustavo Torres
Incident date:
09/07/2007
Location:
5647 S. Whipple St.
Allegations:
Torres was sitting in his open garage with a friend, drinking and waiting for the friend's brother to arrive, when they heard gunshots from down the block. His friend stepped out of the garage to see what happened and if his brother was approaching, when Officers Hayes and Dowling, responding to the gunshots, drove up. The officers approached Torres, who was still sitting in his garage, and searched him. They didn't find anything. Then they searched Torres' garage and found a handgun that he lawfully owned in a box in the corner of the garage. They arrested Torres and charged him with unlawful use of a weapon possession of a firearm while not on his property. They falsified reports to justify the arrest. Torres was found not guilty of all charges at trial after more than three years.