Former Lakemoor cop alleges village wrongfully fired her for having PTSD after gun threat
A former Lakemoor police officer is suing the village saying she was fired for having PTSD, which she claims she developed after having to wrestle a gun away from a murder suspect during a traffic stop in July 2018.
Brianna Tedesco claims she was fired after she told her bosses she wasn't ready to work the night shift alone without a partner.
Village Administrator Ryan "Todd" Weihofen said the village would not comment on ongoing litigation.
Tedesco said Thursday she hopes the lawsuit will help spark change for police officers across the country suffering with mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
"We're doing this so that departments recognize there is a need to change," Tedesco said.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court Wednesday, alleges she was fired from the department on Aug. 6, 2019, more than a year after her encounter with Kenneth Martell, an armed murder suspect, on July 26, 2018.
Tedesco found Martell napping in an SUV in the darkness of a remote driveway at around 5 a.m. Dashcam footage released by the Lake County state's attorney's office shows Tedesco screaming as the suspect pulls a gun on her after she asked him to retrieve documents to confirm his identity.
Martell falsely had identified himself as James Dunkin and pulled a gun on Tedesco after she told him there was no driver's license on record with that name, according to the lawsuit.
Tedesco and Martell struggled over his gun and a second gun he attempted to pull. In the video, Tedesco can be heard screaming, "No! No!" and "Please don't shoot me!" Then, a second officer, Anthony Loiacono, arrived and shot Martell, who died, per the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Tedesco claims she returned to work just over a month after the shooting over the concerns of a therapist after she felt pressure to do so by her colleagues. Other officers told her she needed to "pull her big girl panties up and return to work," the lawsuit alleges.
Tedesco said Thursday her PTSD would be triggered by being alone at night and each time she conducted a traffic stop.
"Every encounter I thought this person is going to kill me," Tedesco said. "After I made traffic stops I always left feeling relieved I didn't die."
She said it was devastating to be fired as she comes from a law enforcement family and always wanted to be a police officer.
In August 2021, Tedesco was awarded disability benefit for PTSD and currently is receiving a pension. Since being terminated, Tedesco said she has enrolled in school to be a psychologist and hopes to help first responders in the future.
Tedesco is asking the court to reinstate her as a police officer and award her actual and punitive damages.