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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION

JOSE LOPEZ, by his wife and next best )

friend, Sandra Cardiel, )

)

Plaintiff, )

v. ) Case No. 

)

UNKNOWN CHICAGO POLICE ) Hon.

OFFICERS individually and in their official ) Judge Presiding.

capacity as police officers for the City of )

Chicago, and the CITY OF CHICAGO, ) Hon.

ILLINOIS, a municipal corporation and a ) Magistrate Judge.

body politic, )

Defendants. ) JURY DEMANDED

COMPLAINT

NOW COMES the Plaintiff, JOSE LOPEZ, by his wife and next best friend, Sandra 

Cardiel, by and through his attorneys, John P. DeRose & Associates and Franco N. Carone, and 

complains of Defendants Unknown Chicago Police Officers, and the CITY OF CHICAGO, 

ILLINOIS as follows:

JURISDICTION

1. The jurisdiction of this Honorable Court is invoked pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 

supplemental jurisdiction is requested over state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367.

PARTIES

2. Jose Lopez, at all relevant times hereinafter mentioned, was a resident of the City of 

Summit, the County of Cook, and the State of Illinois.

3. The Unknown Chicago Police Officers, at all relevant times hereinafter mentioned, were

Police Officers employed with the City of Chicago Police Department.

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4. The City of Chicago, at all relevant times hereinafter mentioned, was and is a municipal 

corporation and body politic in the State of Illinois.

5. The Unknown Chicago Police Officers, at all relevant times herein mentioned, were 

acting under the color of law.

FACTS

6. On July 22, 2011, at approximately 3:20 AM Plaintiff, who had a history and previous 

hospitalization because of heart problems, began to experience chest pains. 

7. Plaintiff was walking and talking just fine, but he was complaining of chest pains.

8. When Plaintiff's friend suggested that she was going to call 911 for emergency medical 

assistance, Plaintiff said that he would be fine and did not want any medical assistance.

9. As Plaintiff went walking down the sidewalk in the 2500 block of South Albany Avenue

in the City of Chicago, his friend placed an emergency call to 911 asking for an ambulance to 

tend to Plaintiff.

10. Plaintiff's friend told the emergency dispatch operator that Plaintiff was conscious, 

walking, and talking, but was complaining of chest pains. 

11. The 911 Emergency Operator dispatched a Chicago Fire Department ambulance to tend 

to Plaintiff's needs.

12. A Chicago Fire Department truck arrived first on the scene in response to the emergency 

dispatch.

13. Unknown Chicago Police Officers, whose identities are unknown but will be ascertained 

during the course of discovery in this cause, also went in response to the emergency dispatch.

14. At least three or four squad cars of the Chicago Police Department arrived on the scene 

before or simultaneous with the arrival of the Chicago Fire Department ambulance.

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15. Upon their arrival and before the arrival of the Chicago Fire Department ambulance, the 

Unknown Chicago Police Officers observed Plaintiff walking in the 2400 block of South Albany 

Avenue in the City of Chicago.

16. When the Unknown Chicago Police Officers ordered Plaintiff to stop and come to them, 

Plaintiff told them he did not want their help and said he was just fine. 

17. As the Unknown Chicago Police Officers continued to order Plaintiff to come to them, 

Plaintiff was unarmed and non-combative, but told the police that he did not want their 

assistance. 

18. Plaintiff disregarded their order, turned, continued to retreat in a direction away from 

them, and started walking toward his car.

19. Plaintiff did not have the keys to his car, and Plaintiff's friend advised Unknown Chicago 

Police Officers of that fact.

20. As is their want, custom, and practice to so do, when a citizen of the community refuses 

an order to stop and continues to walk away, Unknown Chicago Police Officers draw and use 

their Taser Guns to force compliance.

21. There were more than an ample number of Unknown Chicago Police Officers and 

Chicago Fire Department Personnel on the scene to exert sufficient and adequate physical force 

against Plaintiff as he continued to walk away to seize and restrain him without the use of the 

Taser Gun.

22. Plaintiff was surrounded by Unknown Chicago Police Officers and Chicago Fire 

Department Personnel, was unarmed, had all his avenues of retreat blocked and secured, and was 

verbally refusing any treatment by or attention from them. 

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23. Because Plaintiff had not heeded their order to stop and come to them, the Unknown 

Chicago Police Officers drew their Taser Guns, and without any right or reason to so do, 

immediately tased Plaintiff, sending an electric shock through Plaintiff's body strong enough to 

cause him to crash violently to the ground, crack open his head, and cry out with horrible sounds 

of pain.

24. The Unknown Chicago Police Officers immediately rushed Plaintiff, violently turned him 

facedown on the sidewalk, and, without any right to so do, handcuffed him behind his back.

25. The Unknown Chicago Police Officers lacked probable cause, did not have any right to 

effect an arrest of Plaintiff, and acted unreasonably because they responded overzealously and 

with little concern for the safety of him.

26. Plaintiff posed no threat to the safety of the Unknown Chicago Police Officers or others, 

was not actively resisting an arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight, and would have posed 

no danger to the community or to the Unknown Chicago Police Officers if he had been just left 

unattended as he requested.

27. The Unknown Chicago Police Officers tased Plaintiff to enable behavioral control over 

him, not because he was an imminent threat to anyone.

28. Although each and every one of them had an ample and realistic opportunity to intervene, 

the Unknown Chicago Police Officers failed to stop the use of excessive force in tasing Plaintiff

and the infringement of his constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment.

29. Even though they made no effort to mitigate and temper the degree and severity of the 

force used when apprehending and restraining Plaintiff in order to render unwanted medical aid 

to him, immediately after he was handcuffed, the Unknown Chicago Police Officers denied that 

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they had done anything wrong to anyone who would listen, including the ambulance paramedics 

and the bystanders who gathered at the scene.

30. Immediately thereafter, Plaintiff was secured to the ambulance stretcher with restraints.

31. The City of Chicago has failed to adequately train and supervise its police officers to 

appreciate a commonsense need to mitigate force or make efforts to temper the severity of the 

force when apprehending a detainee or rendering aid to a citizen, particularly when the detainee

or citizen is known or suspected of having diminished capacity and/or may be physically unable 

to comply with police commands.

32. As is its custom and practice, the City of Chicago has failed to adequately train and 

supervise its police officers in the appropriate circumstances under which they are authorized 

and allowed to discharge their Taser Guns into detainees or citizens of the community.

33. As is its custom and practice, the City of Chicago has failed to discipline its officers in 

any way for the use of excessive force on citizens of the community and, in particular, the 

inappropriate use of the Taser Gun against Plaintiff.

34. After the ambulance paramedics had tended to Plaintiff as best they could on the streets 

of the City of Chicago, Plaintiff was transferred unconscious to Mount Sinai Hospital Emergency 

Room.

35. Since the moment of the tasing of him by the Unknown Chicago Police Officers, Plaintiff 

suffered severe head injuries.

36. Since moments after the tasing of Plaintiff by the Unknown Chicago Police Officers, 

Plaintiff was rendered unconscious and has been and remains in a coma.

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37. Upon arrival at Mount Sinai Hospital Emergency Room, Plaintiff was found to have 

suffered a traumatic brain injury with subdural hematoma as well as a left temporal lobe 

contusion.

38. After being evaluated by neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, Plaintiff underwent a 

subdural hematoma evacuation and craniotomy and right temporal lobectomy.

39. Following that surgical procedure, Plaintiff was admitted to the surgical intensive care 

unit of Mount Sinai Hospital where he remained unresponsive while on a ventilator.

40. Postoperatively, the Plaintiff was given a tracheotomy and a tube placement was 

performed on him on August 8, 2011 at Mount Sinai Hospital.

41. Plaintiff was transferred to and remains in the Kindred Hospital Chicago North Intensive 

Care Unit with continued ventilator support, remains unconscious, and now suffers from a 

seizure disorder.

COUNT I

VIOLATION OF 42 U.S.C. § 1983

FALSE SEIZURE

42. The Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges paragraphs 1 through 41 of this Complaint as 

paragraphs 1 through 41 of Count I as though fully set forth herein.

43. Defendant Unknown Officers of the Chicago Police Department violated the civil rights 

of Plaintiff when they illegally seized Plaintiff against his will and falsely restrained his freedom 

of movement by tasing him without probable cause.

44. The Defendant Unknown Chicago Police Officers were, at all times, acting under color of 

state law, in their capacity as Chicago Police Officers.

45. The actions of Defendant Unknown Chicago Police Officers were intentional.

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46. Plaintiff suffered severe physical and mental injuries due to the false seizure of his person 

by tasing him.

47. The City of Chicago has a custom and practice consistent with the actions of its Police 

Officers.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays for judgment against the Defendants and each

of them as follows:

A. Compensatory damages in the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), 

including, but not limited to, physical injury and disability, pain and suffering, and medical 

expenses which were incurred as a result of Defendants’ actions;

B. Costs of this suit;

C. Reasonable attorneys’ fees;

D. Punitive damages against the Unknown Defendant Chicago Police Officers in the 

amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000); and

E. Other such relief as this Honorable Court deems proper and just.

COUNT II

VIOLATION OF 42 U.S.C. § 1983

EXCESSIVE FORCE

48. The Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges paragraphs 1 through 47 of this Complaint as 

paragraphs 1 through 47 of Count II as though fully set forth herein.

49. The Defendants and each of them violated the civil rights of Plaintiff when he was 

subjected to the use of excessive, unreasonable, and unjustified force, and subjected to great 

duress and injury. 

50. Defendants violated Plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable 

search and seizure when excessive force was used against Plaintiff.

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51. Defendant Unknown Chicago Police Officers, without any legal justification, willfully 

and maliciously tased Plaintiff, causing him severe physical, mental, and emotional pain.

52. Thereafter, the Defendant Unknown Chicago Police Officers without any legal 

justification willfully, forcefully, and maliciously restrained Plaintiff.

53. The Defendants and each of them conspired together to use excessive force against 

Plaintiff and restrain him.

54. As a result of the Defendants’ use of excessive force and restraint against him, Plaintiff 

suffered physical and emotional injuries as herein set forth.

55. The Defendants and each of them knew or should have known that their actions were 

violative of rights guaranteed to the Plaintiff.

56. The Defendants’ actions were the direct and proximate cause of the injuries suffered by 

Plaintiff.

57. The Defendant Police Officers were at all times, acting under the color of state law, in 

their individual and official capacities as members of the Chicago Police Department.

58. The actions of the Defendants and of each of them, acting in conspiracy with each other, 

were willful and malicious and showed a wanton disregard for the constitutional rights of 

Plaintiff and his safety.

59. The Defendants used a degree of force that was objectively unreasonable in light of the 

facts and circumstances at the time.

60. By reason of the acts of the Defendants, Plaintiff has suffered great anxiety and pain of 

mind and body and will continue to suffer, all to his damage.

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61. The City of Chicago maintains a custom and practice of allowing its Police Department 

to foster and encourage activities consistent with the actions of Defendant Unknown Chicago 

Police Officers.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays for judgment against the Defendants and each 

of them as follows:

A. Compensatory damages in the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), 

including but not limited to, physical injury and disability, pain and suffering, and medical 

expenses which were incurred as a result of Defendants’ actions;

B. Costs of this suit;

C. Reasonable attorney’s fees;

D. Punitive damages against the Unknown Defendant Chicago Police Officers in the 

amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000); and

E. Other such relief as this Honorable Court deems proper and just.

COUNT III

ASSAULT and BATTERY

62. The Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges paragraphs 1 through 61 of this Complaint as 

paragraphs 1 through 61 of Count III as though fully set forth herein.

63. The Defendants and each of them conspired together to restrain and tase Plaintiff against 

his will on July 22, 2011. 

64. Plaintiff did present a medical emergency at the time that he was energized by the Taser 

Gun shot at him by the defendant Unknown Chicago Police Officers.

65. That medical emergency under which Plaintiff labored at the time was only exacerbated 

by the actions of the defendants. 

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66. Defendants, by virtue of their aforementioned conduct, intentionally assaulted and 

battered Plaintiff, causing him severe physical and mental pain and suffering.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays for judgment against the Defendants and each 

of them as follows:

A. Compensatory damages in the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), 

including but not limited to, physical injury and disability, pain and suffering, and medical 

expenses which were incurred as a result of Defendants’ actions;

B. Costs of this suit;

C. Reasonable attorney’s fees;

D. Punitive damages against the Unknown Defendant Chicago Police Officers in the 

amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000); and

E. Other such relief as this Honorable Court deems proper and just.

COUNT IV

INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

67. The Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges paragraphs 1 through 66 of this Complaint as 

paragraphs 1 through 66 of Count IV as though fully set forth herein.

68. The actions of the Defendants were extreme and outrageous.

69. The Defendants actions were done in consort and conspiracy to intentionally and 

maliciously cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiff.

70. Defendants knew or reasonably should have known that their actions had a high 

probability of causing severe emotional distress to the Plaintiff.

71. Defendants actions were intentional and malicious and demonstrated a willful and 

wanton disregard for the rights of Plaintiff and had a high probability of causing severe 

emotional distress to him.

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72. Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer from severe emotional distress.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays for judgment against the Defendants and each 

of them as follows:

A. Compensatory damages in the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), 

including but not limited to, physical injury and disability, pain and suffering, and medical 

expenses which were incurred as a result of Defendants’ actions;

B. Costs of this suit;

C. Reasonable attorney’s fees;

D. Punitive damages against the individual Unknown Defendant Chicago Police 

Officers in the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000); and

E. Other such relief as this Honorable Court deems proper and just.

Respectfully submitted,

S/ John P. DeRose

John P. DeRose

One of Plaintiff's Lawyers

John P. DeRose & Associates Franco N. Carone

15 Spinning Wheel Road Carone Law Offices

Suite 428 2227 North Mannheim Road

Hinsdale, Illinois 60521 Melrose Park, IL 60164

(630) 920-1111 Office (708) 870-4878

(630) 920-1170 Fax fcarone@aol.com

jdrlaw@sbcglobal.net 

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