Video clip shows traffic stop that led to rebuke of Wauconda trustee
Wauconda police videos released to the Daily Herald shows the traffic stop officials say led to Trustee Nicole Strauts being relieved of her position by Mayor Jeff Sode as chair of the village board's natural resources committee.
The Herald did not have the videos when the story was published Aug. 5. The paper subsequently received five bodycam and dashboard videos of the July 13 traffic stop totaling 148 minutes.
A short edited version representing a portion of those provided videos is attached to this update.
Strauts was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over shortly after 8 p.m. after turning onto eastbound Liberty Street from South Main Street.
She was not ticketed or charged.
In a letter to residents July 29, Sode said he had reviewed bodycam footage and found “many of the comments made to the village's employees by Ms. Strauts to be inappropriate.”
According to the police report, Strauts was argumentative and refused assistance when told the vehicle was being impounded.
On Aug. 4, village trustees in a 5-0 vote approved a resolution in support of Sode's letter. Strauts abstained.
The resolution also encouraged Strauts to reflect on her actions and impact on the village, its employees and residents.
Strauts at the board meeting said she always separates her personal life from professional decisions and would continue to do so until the end of her term in 2027.