Security guard sues Madison cops for false imprisonment

An armed security guard arrested for impersonating an officer, unlawful use of weapons, unlawful use of a rotating red light and unlawful possession of a blackjack filed a 12-count suit against the City of Madison and two police officers alleging he was falsely imprisoned.

Stephen Rose of St. Charles, Mo. claims he was employed by Wackenhut Security as a security guard assigned to work at the Pilot Truck Center in Madison.

He claims that on June 6, he apprehended two individuals at the truck stop for prostitution and possession of crack cocaine and called the Madison Police.

According to Rose, the dispatcher advised him the officers would not be able to locate him due to the large amount of trucks on the sizeable parking lot.

He claims that he advised the dispatcher that he had a red light and could put it on his car for identification purposes and was told by the dispatcher that it was acceptable to do that.

He claims that Sgt. Neal Mize and officer Curtis Bradley responded to the truck stop and eventually arrested him with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of a rotating red light and one count of possession of a blackjack--a retractable stick that can be used as a weapon.

Rose claims he was taken to the Madison jail and placed in a cell for two days before formal charges were filed and then taken to St. Clair County Jail until he posted a $750 bond on June 8.

"Upon posting bond and being released from custody the plaintiff learned that he had been terminated by his employer due to his arrest by the defendants," the complaint states.

Rose claims even though he complied with Illinois law to carry a weapon, Mize and Bradley arrested him for unlawful use of a weapon.

He also claims Mize and Bradley failed to review the dispatch tape that contained the conversation between him and the dispatcher and then charged him with unlawful use of a rotating red light.

"All the felony charges have been dismissed on the State's motion by the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office after review of the applicable law and speaking with the dispatcher who advised the plaintiff to place the red light upon his personal vehicle for identification purposes," the complaint states.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge John Baricevic dismissed all the criminal charges on Aug. 14.

"The arrest of the plaintiff, placing him in handcuffs, placing him in the back of the squad car, and other actions of touching by defendants constituted a willful touching," the complaint states.

Rose claims he did not consent to the touching of his person by Sgt. Mize or any other law enforcement personnel at Sgt. Mize's request.

He also claims that he was falsely imprisoned by the officers when they acted without reasonable grounds to believe he violated any law in any matter.

Rose also is seeking damages for defamation claiming the officers caused false and misleading information to be published to the public.

Rose is further seeking damages for malicious prosecution claiming that a week prior to his arrest he witnessed a truck driver who was in handcuffs being kicked in the head by officers from the Madison Police Department.

"The police officers have taken the action to discredit the plaintiff should he be called as a witness for the truck driver who was kicked in the head by the police officers," the complaint alleges.

"Defendants did not in good faith nor fairly submit the facts of the arrest and investigation to the State's Attorney when requesting felony prosecution of the plaintiff," the complaint states.

Rose claims that he has lost his job, was wrongfully imprisoned for three days, suffered emotional distress and mental anguish, his reputation has been irreparably damaged and claims he is unable to secure employment in the armed security/police arena due to his arrest.

Represented by Brian Polinske of Edwardsville, Rose is seeking damages in excess of $600,000, plus all costs of the suit.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Lola Maddox.

06 L 733