Plaintiff:
Sha-ron Diggins
Incident date:
08/31/2010
Location:
727 E. 111th St.
Allegations:
Diggins and Coleman went to a police station. Coleman had been involved in an accident earlier that day and believed his car was located in the station's rear parking. Diggins went into the station with her mother while Coleman waited outside. They encountered Officer Jones, who began to yell at them, telling them to leave the station and using foul language. Diggins complied while her mother stayed inside the station. Diggins waited outside with Coleman for 45 minutes. Then Jones exited the station and confronted Diggins and Coleman. He screamed at them and threatened to arrest them. Diggins again explained that they only wanted information about Coleman's car. Diggins and Coleman tried to leave the station, and without reason or provocation, Jones punched Diggins in the face, knocking her to the ground. As Jones and an unknown female officer restrained Diggins on the ground, Officer Portis sprayed her with pepper spray. At the same time, Officer Wells and other officers grabbed, punched and restrained Coleman. The officers took both of them to holding cells and refused to give them bandages or paper towels for their wounds. As Diggins lay on the cell's floor, an officer threw liquid on her, which she believed to be urine. Diggins was taken to the hospital after several hours in custody; Coleman never received treatment. Diggins had learned she was pregnant a few days before the arrest, but after getting tested at the hospital, she found out that she had miscarried because of the injuries she suffered during the arrest. Coleman and Diggins were charged with battery, assault, resisting a police officer and trespassing.