Joliet Cop Hit With Excessive Force Federal Lawsuit

JOLIET, IL — A Chicago civil rights lawyer has filed a federal lawsuit against Joliet and Joliet Police Officer Juan Santiago in connection with allegations the officer used excessive force, committed battery and made an unlawful search and seizure without probable cause.

The Joliet Walgreens store at 1801 Ingalls Ave. captured the events surrounding the arrest of Orland Park resident John Veugeler on video surveillance cameras, according to the nine-page lawsuit filed by Chicago lawyer Amanda Yarusso.

"The video recording of the incident shows that Plaintiff did not commit aggravated assault. The video recording of the incident shows that Plaintiff was fully compliant with the Joliet police officers prior to Defendant Santiago shoving Plaintiff," the Chicago attorney states.

Joliet has retained the Itasca-based law firm of Hervas Condon & Bersani to defend the city and Officer Santiago. This month marks Santiago's two-year anniversary on the Joliet police force. He started in January 2019.

"The city and officer deny the allegations of wrongdoing, and plan on aggressively defending the case. That is all I can comment on at this early stage," attorney Michael Bersani informed Joliet Patch Wednesday evening.

Hervas Condon & Bersani has defended the Joliet Police Department in numerous federal lawsuits filed against the city in recent years.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2019, Veugeler was sitting in his car at the parking lot of the Joliet Walgreens, and Joliet officer Vanessa Terry approached his car, court files show.

"Defendant Santiago also approached plaintiff’s car, opened the driver’s door and proceeded to physically shake plaintiff," the lawsuit states.

The out-of-town man got out and stood next to his car, showing both hands. Veugeler provided police with his driver's license upon their request, according to his lawyer.

After two more Joliet officers showed up at Walgreens, Officer Santiago ran Veugeler's name through the police dispatch system, and Veugeler came back clear, meaning he had no outstanding warrants for his arrest, the federal lawsuit states.

Shortly afterward, Officer Santiago "shoved plaintiff in the chest and backward into plaintiff’s car. One or more of the officers proceeded to turn plaintiff around and place his hands behind his back," court documents reflect. "While plaintiff was on the ground and being held down by the four Joliet police officers, Defendant Santiago proceeded to punch Plaintiff multiple times in his back."

Veugeler had complied with all the officers' orders prior to Officer Santiago pushing her client, according to the Chicago civil rights lawyer.

"All physical contact between the police officers and plaintiff was initiated by the Joliet police officers," attorney Yarusso informed the federal court. "Plaintiff did not batter any police officer or any other individual on December 1, 2019.

"Santiago made false allegations in his police report, including falsely claiming that Plaintiff approached Defendant Santiago in an aggressive manner," the lawsuit states. "Defendant Santiago made false allegations in his police report, including falsely claiming that Plaintiff put Defendant Santiago in fear of receiving a battery ... claiming that Plaintiff refused to cooperate after being ordered multiple times."

The Joliet officer arrested Veugeler "for battery, aggravated assault and resisting a police officer based on these false allegations," the lawsuit states.

Because of the officer's excessive force, Veugeler wound up at Joliet's AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center, court documents indicate.

Current Joliet Police Lt. John Ross went to the hospital to photograph the Orland Park man's injuries, and from there, Veugeler was taken to the Joliet police station.

"Sgt. Ross obtained a video recording of the incident from Walgreens’ surveillance cameras," according to the plaintiffs. "The video recording of the incident does not depict Plaintiff committing a battery to any person. The video recording of the incident shows that Defendant Santiago shoved Plaintiff backward into Plaintiff’s car.

"The video recording of the incident shows that the Joliet police officers initiated any and all physical contact with Plaintiff. The video recording of the incident shows that Plaintiff did not approach Defendant Santiago in an aggressive manner."

The Orland Park man hired an attorney to defend him on his criminal charges in Will County.

"When Plaintiff and his attorney appeared in court on the criminal charges, the criminal case against Plaintiff did not proceed and/or was dismissed," court files show. "As a direct and proximate result of the acts of the Defendants described above, Plaintiff suffered damages, including loss of physical liberty, physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost wages."

There are no Joliet police officer body-camera videos of the incident.

To this day, the Joliet Police Department remains one of the largest police departments in the entire Midwest to resist efforts to require their officers to wear body cameras. Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and the Joliet City Council chose to allocate no money in the 2021 city operating budget for the purchase of body cameras for the city's police officers.

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