News & Politics - Woman sues Ohio police for abusive strip search

Dark Half Undine · 02-19-2008, 12:40 PM

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Stark County Strip Searches
by Victoria Hardy

February 04, 2008
It seems we are sliding further and further into the rabbit hole and if the days of gentle and compassionate law enforcement ever truly existed, well, they are surely gone now. It´s no secret that our police departments are becoming militarized and it appears that in certain areas of the country the idea "to serve and protect" has gone the way of the dinosaurs. I ran across a disturbing video and I will issue a warning now that it is very difficult to watch. WKYC

It all began in Stark County, Ohio when Hope Steffey was assaulted by a cousin and another cousin called 911 for assistance. When the officer arrived, Ms. Steffey accidentally handed over her deceased sister´s license, which she kept for sentimental reasons. She immediately noticed the mistake and gave the officer her own identification and asked for her sister´s to be returned. The officer refused to return her sister´s license. The officer ran a check on Ms. Steffey´s license and found no infractions, but continued to treat her as though she were the perpetrator of the crime, instead of the victim.

Ms. Steffey states she begged for the return of her sister´s license until Officer Gurlea lost his patience and shouted, "shut up about your dead sister." When Ms. Steffey pointed at the officer´s pocket, which held her sister´s id, and said, "she was here, she was someone", Officer Gurlea threw her face down on the hood of his patrol car, chipping one of her teeth. And according to documents filed by Hope and Greg Steffey with the United States District Court in Cleveland, Officer Gurlea then threw Steffey to the ground. Although Ms. Steffey´s cousin repeatedly reminded the officer that Steffey was the victim and had been knocked unconscious in the previous assault, Officer Gurlea handcuffed Steffey and put her into the back of his patrol car, refusing her medical care.

Hope Steffey was then taken to the county jail and forcibly strip-searched by 6 to 7 male and female deputies, despite Stark County´s own policy which states that a strip search must be conducted by a same sex officer. She was left in a cell for 6 hours with no clothing or even a blanket and eventually wrapped herself in toilet tissue for warmth and modesty. She was not allowed a phone call or medical attention and when she was later taken to booking, she was given only a small weighted vest to cover her nudity. She was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Salem News

Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson states the reason Steffey´s clothes were taken from her and she was left naked and exposed in a cell, was for her own safety. Sheriff Swanson maintains that his deputies are not guilty of any wrongdoing and that they have a job to protect prisoners in their custody. Canton Rep

Attorneys for Ms. Steffey do not believe that the sheriff´s office has handed over all of the footage from the night of the arrest and the dashboard camera was not turned on during most of the incident. In a second installment from WKYC, mounted video cameras in the jail show an officer filming Ms. Steffey´s arrest, but lawyers claim they have yet to receive the footage. WKYC

Interestingly enough, Ms. Steffey´s is not the first lawsuit filed in Stark County for illegal strip search. On May 18, 2007, three girls aged 14,15 and 16 arrived at the Multi-County Juvenile Attention Center for an arraignment following charges of "criminal trespass on a public sidewalk". Instead of going before a judge the girls were informed by a court worker that the case would be over if they agreed to 20 hours of community service, to attend school regularly and take a 15 minute tour of the Attention Center. Unbeknownst to the girl´s parents, who waited downstairs for the tour to be over, the girls were taken upstairs and strip-searched while guards made disparaging remarks. There was no reason for the strip search as the girls were not under arrest or about to be confined and they had been through a metal detector and searched upon entering the building. Sheriff Swanson confirms that an investigation is underway, but states no conclusions have been reached.Canton Rep

I understand that occasionally strip searches may be necessary, but Hope Steffey was the victim, not a violent criminal and had yet to be charged with any crime. The charges against Ms. Steffey were disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Is acting disorderly after an assault a reason to be strip-searched? Couldn´t the very act of "disorderly conduct" after being knocked unconscious be a clue that Ms. Steffey may have needed medical assistance? And as the victim of an assault isn´t it reasonable that Ms. Steffey may resist arrest? She was the victim of the crime, not the perpetrator and I am sure she was mightily confused as to why she was being taken to jail. And what of her rights as a citizen of this country not to be violated and humiliated for a minor offense?

Ms. Steffey stated that she felt "raped, without penetration" and really, how else could she feel after being handcuffed, held down and having her clothes forcibly removed by both men and women? Rape, after all, is not a sexual act; it is an act of power, force and humiliation. She was not charged with a violent crime and yet her rights, her dignity and her clothing were stripped from her with total disregard to the fact that she was the victim and a human being. Is this how police officers in Stark County are being trained to treat victims and minor offenders?

The footage of Ms. Steffey´s violation is difficult to watch, but at least some footage has surfaced. Attorneys for the three teenage girls believe that the surveillance footage at the Attention Center has been concealed or destroyed. Stark County Family Court Judge David E. Stucki was handling arraignments at the Attention Center the day the minor girls were allegedly strip-searched and although he will not publicly discuss this case, he says he often handles low-level offenses informally. The tour through the Attention Center is designed to scare kids straight, but Judge Stucki says he does not know specifically what occurs during the "tours". Attorneys for the girls are seeking to discover if other children have been strip-searched on an Attention Center tour.

http://shadmia.com/2008/02/14/innoce...trip-searched/

You can watch the video there. WARNING:This video is disturbing, but it is the evidence that Steffey is using to sue the Stark County police department.

This is just...beyond awful, and also another incident in Ohio of police brutality and incompetence. There was another one a few years back involving a young girl working at McDonalds. The cop falsely accused her of stealing his money, even after her manager checked and saw that she did not do any such thing. He came in to arrest her and when she asked why, he pepper sprayed her. She sued and won 65,000 dollars.

I wonder when the police brutality will end.

Lain · 02-19-2008, 02:05 PM

What the hell? Seriously!

Even if you are being charged with disorderly conduct, you wouldn't be subjected to a strip search, especially if it involved something like that.

I would be upset too if cops started treating me like I was the criminal after I was beaten up by someone I knew.

But yeah, the video was indeed disturbing.

Papri · 02-19-2008, 04:09 PM

It seems to me that there is a serious breach of police accountability here; makign up excuses for the stripping UNDERAGE GIRLS?? But when upholders of the law are breaching rights of people, then who do you complain to about it? Hopefully this will get taken up at a higher level.

**sum1** · 02-19-2008, 05:25 PM

**sunnykerr** · 02-19-2008, 08:02 PM

Men like that are a disgrace to the badge they wear. When you think of the solidarity that exists between police officers, you wonder what kind of lowlives want to bismirch their fellow officers in that way.

Not to mention that women should never have to go through anything like that. I don't care what she did. I don't. Police officers are meant to protect. Even the criminals, to the extent that they can without endangering their own lives.

**sum1** · 02-20-2008, 01:55 AM

Jen Jaree · 02-20-2008, 08:37 PM

This is just awful

. I hope that woman gets every penny from this lawsuit and she'll probably win the suit. If not then I have no faith in the US justice system. It's bad enough when they do that to small offenders it's even worse if SHE was the victim and especially since it was an honest mistake and there was nothing they could hold her against. Aren't you only stripped if you are a danger to yourself or others? The sad thing is I don't they even treat muders or child molesters like this. I bet the cousin who assulted her was treated no where near this bad.

Dark Half Undine · 02-20-2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jen Jaree (View Post)

This is just awful

. I hope that woman gets every penny from this lawsuit and she'll probably win the suit. If not then I have no faith in the US justice system. It's bad enough when they do that to small offenders it's even worse if SHE was the victim and especially since it was an honest mistake and there was nothing they could hold her against. Aren't you only stripped if you are a danger to yourself or others? The sad thing is I don't they even treat muders or child molesters like this. I bet the cousin who assulted her was treated no where near this bad.

I thought once they stripped you and made sure you had no weapons they gave you BACK your clothes. Or at least like a coat.

Ridiculous. It was awful watching it, it felt like watching someone getting raped.


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