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Chicago Cops Called Predatory & Abusive

CHICAGO (CN) - A woman claims a Chicago cop sexually groped her during a putative investigation, and when she complained, other officers pressured her to withdraw the complaint, and threw her in jail on bogus charges when she refused.

Tiawanda Moore says defedant Officer Jason Wilson and his partner went to her home on July 6, 2010, "in response to a previously reported domestic dispute."

Moore, 21, says her then-boyfriend allowed the officers into the home "and Officer Wilson went upstairs to the bedroom where Ms. Moore was located to interview Ms. Moore."

The federal complaint continues: "During his interview, Officer Wilson physically groped Ms. Moore's breasts and buttocks.

"Before leaving the bedroom, Officer Wilson wrote his home phone number on a piece of paper and told Ms. Moore to call him because they should 'hook-up'.

Ms. Moore called the Chicago Police Department to report Officer Wilson's misconduct. "

At Chicago Police headquarters, Moore says, she met with defendant Internal Affairs investigators Richard Plotke and Luis Alejo.

"Instead of investigating Ms. Moore's complaint and arresting Officer Wilson, IAD investigators worked to discourage Ms. Moore from filing the complaint," the complaint states.

It continues: "After Ms. Moore described the assault and inappropriate conduct by Officer Wilson, Defendants Plotke and Alejo sought to prevent Ms. Moore from proceeding with an official complaint against Officer Wilson.

"Ms. Moore asked that two new officers be assigned to help her file her complaint, Lt. Plotke refused to reassign new personnel.

"When Ms. Moore got up to leave the interview room, Lt. Plotke closed the door and told her to sit down and that she was not going anywhere.

"While under a reasonable suspicion that the officers had committed a crime, were about to commit a crime and were committing a crime against her, Ms. Moore recorded the conversation with defendant Officers on her Blackberry telephone.

"During several minutes of recording, defendants Plotke and Alejo attempted to convince Ms. Moore to the drop the complaint.

"When defendants Plotke and Alejo suspected that Ms. Moore's Blackberry, which was sitting on the table between them, was recording their conversation they stopped the conversation and arrested her.

"Defendants Plotke and Alejo wrongfully arrested Ms. Moore and charged her with violating the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute. The statute, however, specifically exempts persons who record 'under reasonable suspicion that another party to the conversation is committing, is about to commit ... a criminal offense against the person ... and there is reason to believe that evidence of the criminal offense may be obtained by the recording.' 720 ILCS § 5/14-3.

"Defendants Plotke and Alejo knew that by stopping Ms. Moore from leaving the interview room and attempting to prevent her from filing a complaint against Officer Wilson they were committing the crimes of unlawful restraint, official misconduct and were attempting to commit the crime of obstruction of justice.

"As a result of the arrest, Ms. Moore spent over two weeks in Cook County Jail and was forced to spend a year fighting the baseless criminal charge.

"On August 25, 2011, a jury in the Cook County Circuit Court found Ms. Moore not guilty."

Moore seeks punitive damages for constitutional violations, false arrest and malicious prosecution. She is represented by Robert Johnson with Smith Johnson.

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