A woman has filed suit against the village of Glen Carbon after she says officials failed to properly handle her divorce.
Lynn H. Harrison claims she began to experience "overwhelming amounts of scrutiny about the circumstances of custody and several police incidents, often brought on by her ex-spouse and his influence" after she and her ex-husband divorced.
For example, Harrison claims police unexpectedly arrived at her home, arrested her for resisting a peace officer and arrested her for disorderly conduct. In addition, Glen Carbon police arrested her for an expired automobile registration, for speeding more than 10 miles per hour, for domestic battery and for failure to appear in court, the suit states.
In addition, police harmed her children by making unnecessary visits to their schools, by failing to enforce legal custody orders in place in 2006 and by removing her three children from her house, the complaint says.
"This has negatively impacted Petitioner and minors' reputations, enjoyment of life, and put them in fear of people in authority, and has directly made them unnecessarily fearful of their own mother," the suit states. "It has created issues with overall well being by being embarrassed, shameful, encouraged them to lie to their father, distressing them and their mother."
In an attempt to stop the alleged "mistreatment," Harrison contacted Glen Carbon Police Chief David Bradford, but has seen no changes in attitude, she claims.
In her complaint, Harrison is seeking legal and physical custody, domestic battery charges dropped, an order requiring her daughter to remain at an elementary school, a protection plan for herself and her children to avoid further stalking and harassment by police, more than $50,000 in damages and unspecified punitive damages.
Lynn H. Harrison will be appearing pro se.
Madison County Circuit Court case number: 11-L-576.