Opinion ID: 8414547
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Undisputed Facts of Mulvania’s Arrest and Detention

Text: On November 7, 2010, two police officers arrested Joan Mulvania for domestic battery. They brought her to the Rock Island County Jail, but upon arrival, Mulvania refused to exit the vehicle. Several corrections officers moved her from the car to a holding cell in the jail. Mulvania’s speech was slurred, and she screamed obscenities, refused to cooperate with the officers, and was physically combative. The officers testified that Mulvania appeared intoxicated and was acting erratically. Mulvania claims she was experiencing a “posh-traumatic stress disorder flashback.” She disputes that the officers smelled alcohol on her breath. Defendants acknowledge that they did not smell alcohol, but they rely on hospital laboratory results from that day in which Mulvania tested positive for cocaine and cannabinoids. Once in the holding cell, Mulvania refused to change from her clothes into a jail uniform, which is part of the jail’s booking process for all detainees. The defendants claim that misdemeanor detainees are permitted to change in a private room when they are cooperative; however, the plaintiffs dispute this. When detainees are not cooperative, the Sheriff permits officers to use reasonable force to ensure compliance with the policy. After Mulvania refused to change into the jail uniform, two female corrections officers and three or four male officers restrained her and removed her clothing. They placed Mulvania on her stomach, held her arms straight over her head, and then lifted her shirt off. During this process, Mulvania banged her head against the floor and yelled, “They’re going to rape me.” After they removed her clothing, the officers draped a jail uniform over her naked body and left the holding cell. Several minutes later, Mulvania had a seizure and was brought to the hospital. After she returned from the hospital, she was released from the jail without any charges.