U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough has ruled that Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Travis Koester used excessive force against a Springfield woman and falsely arrested her during a 2011 traffic stop.
In her federal lawsuit against Koester and the county, Tamara Skube claimed that the deputy had no reason to twice deploy his Taser, then haul her to jail when she questioned his right to search her purse after the deputy had arrested her boyfriend on suspicion of drunken driving. In her ruling issued Thursday, Myerscough agreed.
Koester had argued that Skube was subject to arrest because she was resisting him and obstructing his DUI investigation. Myserscough disagreed, noting that Skube posed no physical threat and that just 12 seconds elapsed between the time that Koester ordered Skube to turn around because she was under arrest and the time that the deputy used his Taser.
“In sum, Skube’s twelve-second period of nonviolent objection was, as a matter of law, insufficient to give rise to a probable cause for an arrest, and the law was clear on that point with the events of this case transpired on July 21, 2011,” Myerscough wrote. “Therefore, summary judgment must be granted in favor of Skube on her unlawful arrest claim. … Furthermore, because Deputy Koester did not have probable cause to arrest Skube, the non-minimal force used by Deputy Koester in effecting the arrest was unreasonable.”
Myerscough ruled that Skube is entitled to damages due to Koester’s use of a Taser, but who might pay isn’t clear. Myerscough in her ruling said that Koester acted illegally in his individual, but not official, capacity. Under Myerscough’s ruling, a trial will be held so that a jury can determine where Koester’s conduct amounted to assault and battery in his official capacity.
Dan Noll, attorney for Skube, could not be reached for comment. Dwayne Gab, Sangamon County chief civil counsel, said that he had not yet read Myerscough’s ruling and so could not comment.
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
Here’s a copy of the judge’s opinion:
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.
