$49,000 Settlement for College of DuPage Student Beaten by Cops in Class

Civil Rights, Criminal Law, Police Officers 03/28/2018bhorwitz

In 2015, The Blake Horwitz Law Firm filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Jackie Pazera against the College of DuPage and two campus police officers for violating Ms. Pazera’s civil rights by using excessive force and falsely imprisoning her when she was a student at the college.  The case ultimately settled in 2017 for $49,000.

As originally reported by ABC Chicago, Ms. Pazera was a student at the College of DuPage when she was confronted by two campus police officers. She was smoking a cigarette outside, and the officers approached her to issue a verbal warning that the College of DuPage is a smoke-free campus.

According to NBC Chicago, Ms. Pazera showed the officers her student identification, and then proceeded back inside to attend class. The officers followed her inside to continue the encounter.

From there, the officers approached Ms. Pazera as she sat in class and attempted to arrest her for trespassing. Ms. Pazera’s professor and a fellow student recorded the incident on their cell phones, which can be viewed at ABC Philadelphia and the Daily Herald.

As The Patch describes, the video shows both officers pulling Ms. Pazera to the ground while telling her to stop resisting as she shouted that she could not breathe and that the officers were hurting her. She suffered injuries to her wrist and shoulder from the incident.

The officers then charged Ms. Pazera with trespassing and resisting arrest. All criminal charges against Ms. Pazera were later dropped.

If you or someone you know share a similar story as Ms. Pazera, contact The Blake Horwitz Law Firm at (312) 676-2100 or [email protected].

Read more about this settlement below:

  • ABC Chicago, “College of DuPage student claims campus police used excessive force”
  • ABC Philadelphia, “Police Used Excessive Force on College of DuPage Student, Lawsuit Alleges”
  • AP News, “Ex-student sues college for excessive force by police”
  • Daily Herald, “COD student’s attorney: Two campus cops should be fired”
  • Daily Herald, “Federal lawsuits piling up at College of DuPage”
  • NBC Chicago, “Ex-College of DuPage Student Claims in Lawsuit Police Used Excessive Force”
  • The Patch, “Police Used Excessive Force on College of DuPage Student, Lawsuit Alleges”