Plaintiff:
Joseph Vosatka
Incident date:
09/12/2010
Location:
400 N. Lakeshore Dr.
Allegations:
Izsak anchored his 57-foot yacht, The Flying Lady, in Lake Michigan's "play pen," near Ohio Street Beach. He had 20 friends on board and was playing music when officers pulled alongside him in a police boat. The officers told Izsak they were investigating a noise violation and demanded to see his identification and the yacht's paperwork. Izsak turned down the music and complied. Without permission, Officer Funchion jumped onto The Flying Lady and said he needed to inspect the safety of the yacht. The hull of the yacht facing the police boat had a sticker showing that the Coast Guard had already inspected The Flying Lady at the beginning of the boating season. Izsak also gave officers paperwork showing his yacht had passed the Coast Guard's highest level of safety standards. Officer Funchion ignored this and continued his inspection while repeatedly asking Izsak how he could afford the yacht in front of his guests. During the inspection, Officer Funchion asked Izsak if he had anything illegal on The Flying Lady. Izsak said he did not, but Officer Funchion claimed that he knew there was something illegal and he was going to find it. He ransacked the yacht's bedroom, drawers and cabinets without justification. When nothing illegal was found, Officer Funchion falsely claimed Vosatka spit on him in order to threaten to impound the boat and arrest them. He then grabbed Vosatka, 68, and handcuffed him. Officers roughly moved Vosatka on to the police boat. They searced his pockets and took his car keys and a cell phone case, which were never returned. Vosatka, who had a medical condition that made it difficult to sit for long periods of time, tried to stand up, but officers pushed him back down, breaking his glasses. Vosatka refused to sign a ticket for an ordinance violation, so officers took him to a police station and charged with reckless conduct. After approximately four court appearances, the charge was dismissed.