Buffalo Grove trustee who feels threatened under police watch
Buffalo Grove Trustee Lisa Stone requested a special watch on her home by the Buffalo Grove Police Department, after what she said was a deliberate bump to her person by former trustee Bruce Kahn at Buffalo Grove Days Sept. 5.
Stone, who filed a police report about the incident that night and returned later to amend it, is critical of remarks made by Police Cmdr. Steve Husak to the Daily Herald, saying Husak is taking Kahn's side.
"It appeared to me that Cmdr. Husak was protecting the perpetrator. I was the victim," she said.
Husak declined to comment, but in the days following the incident, Husak told the Daily Herald that Kahn's stumble into Stone at a Buddy Baseball game "did not appear to be criminal" nor did it appear to be intentional.
Kahn has maintained he bumped into Stone accidentally and quickly apologized.
Stone, however, said in the police report that she "believes that Mr. Kahn is intentionally looking for ways to hurt her" and said Kahn has been her nemesis since she first began her run for trustee. Stone was elected to the village board in April.
When asked to elaborate, Stone said, "I can't talk about the history," because of pending legal matters, adding, "The police are aware of it" and comparing it to "the O.J. case. There has been so much history."
Kahn said he isn't aware of any issues between the two of them. He and Stone were both at the Buddy Baseball game Sept. 5, played by children with special needs.
Kahn acknowledges that he bumped into Stone, and says it happened when he turned around.
"I reached out, put my hand on that person's shoulder before I even knew who it was, said excuse me, apologized and went on my way," Kahn said.
Stone said it wasn't a bump, and that Kahn "fell into me."
"It felt like his shoulder, something large and bony that hit the back of my right skull," she said. "It wasn't his hand on my shoulder.
"My head was killing me all night," Stone added. She said she didn't visit a doctor.
She returned to the station on Sept. 11, to amend the original report, adding she was injured on the back of her head and back area.
Stone added she is exploring with her attorney other steps she could take to protect herself and her family, and says she has met with a police department social worker.
Buffalo Grove police have closed their investigation without taking any action, other than asking Kahn to avoid any contact with Stone or her family, which he said he agreed to.
The police also advised Stone to avoid contact with Kahn. They said they put the special watch on her home at Stone's request.
Stone also pointed to a witness, who was interviewed by police.
The witness told police she and Stone were talking when, "Lisa just sort of like jarred forward. We both made the 'What the heck? face,' like, 'What just happened?'"
Kahn, she reported, said, "'Oh, sorry. Sorry.'"
"To me it didn't look accidental, but it could have been," the witness said. "To me it just looked like one of those, like, when you bump into a friend jokingly and give him a little shove."
The witness added she was certain Kahn did not intend to harm Stone, adding, "he was not threatening."
Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steve Balinski said a person who doesn't agree when the department closes a case can ask the state's attorney's office for an independent review.
"We did a thorough interview with the complainant (Stone). We talked to the person that was purported to be the alleged offender (Kahn). And we also interviewed an independent witness," he said.
"As a result of the accumulation of those three interviews, it was determined that there was no basis for a criminal complaint at this time, unless further information develops," Balinski said.