Plaintiff:
Richard R. Pandolfi
Incident date:
04/02/2010
Location:
842 W. Roscoe St.
Allegations:
Richard and Stacey Pandolfi were in a contract dispute with two brothers who they had hired to remodel their apartment in a three-unit building they own . The Pandolfis believed that the brothers, Justin and Robert Stanaker, had failed to complete the work they had agreed to do in February 2010. One day in April 2010, Robert Stanaker called the police while he and Justin were standing outside the Pandolfis' apartment, claiming that he needed assistance. When Officers Syfczak and Eitel arrived, the brothers told them that they had tools inside the apartment they wanted to retrieve. While standing with the officers, one of the brothers called Richard Pandolfi, who explicitly told them they didn't have permission to enter his apartment. Despite that, under the supervision of the officers, the Stanakers entered the apartment, using a key the Pandolfis had given them to use while they were remodeling. The officers and the Stanakers forced their way into the apartment, despite not having a search warrant or probable cause. As they entered, Richard Pandolfi tried to block them and Justin Stanaker knocked Richard Pandolfi to the ground. Pandolfi pushed Stanaker off of him, which cased Stanaker to fall back and bump into Officer Eitel. When the officers and Stanaker brothers refused to leave their home, Richard Pandolfi told his wife to call 911. At that point, Officer Syfczak placed Richard Pandolfi under arrest and transported him to the 23rd District police station. Stacey Pandolfi remained in the house with Officer Eitel and the Stanakers, and pleaded with them to leave her home. Instead, Officer Eitel allowed the Stanakers to ransack the apartment, flipping the furniture over, ripping several doors off the hinges, and throwing their childrens' toys and other personal belongings around the house. Officer Eitel called Pandolfi a "crazy lady" and said they could, "do anything that we want." The Stanakers then stole a set of keys from the kitchen and used them to break into the Pandolfis' home office in the garden unit of the building. They also searched the Panolfis' garage and their car. During this time, Sergeant Chevalier, Officer Eitel's supervisor, arrived and allowed the search to continue. They also allowed the Stanakers to remove numerous items from the apartment and garage, without inventorying them. Richard Pandolfi was charged with misdemeanor battery to Justin Stanaker, aggravated battery to a police officer, and resisting arrest. The battery charge was dropped, but he was found guilty at trial of aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting arrest.