Carpentersville mom claims illegal police search traumatized her children

A Carpentersville woman is suing the village, a police commander and officers alleging her home was illegally searched and her children traumatized while she was away.

The suit filed Thursday in federal court on behalf of Violet Hernandez alleges the police actions on June 13 and 14. Among them are that police entered without a warrant and "choked, tackled and then handcuffed" one of her sons inside the home. A video camera captured some of the action; the video was shared with ABC 7 and aired on television.

Village Manager Eric Johnson on Saturday said police were responding to a report of a missing female minor during the time in question but the village had just learned of the lawsuit and is not prepared to make a statement regarding specific allegations.

"However, the village takes all matters involving police interactions with the public seriously," he said. A third party is investigating the "appropriateness or inappropriateness of the involved officers' actions," he said.

Hernandez is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs. Unlawful search and seizure, assault, battery, invasion of privacy, trespassing and infliction of emotional distress are among the allegations.

According to the lawsuit, police and the parents of the girl, who had run away, went to Hernandez's home on the 2100 block of Morningside Lane on June 13. One of Hernandez's children, identified as "I.G.," 16, was a friend of the missing girl. He said she had been there earlier and he called an Uber and told her to go home, according to the suit.

Police searched the home while Hernandez was at work and her minor children were home alone and incapable of consenting to a search, the suit contends. I.G.'s brother, "J.G.," 9, called his mother crying.

According to the suit, Hernandez told an officer on the phone they didn't have a warrant to be in her house and that she would leave work and come home. Police had left by the time Hernandez arrived.

Police returned the next day. According to the suit, one of the officers opened the front door and went inside where I.G. said he wasn't comfortable with them being there while his mother was away.

At that point, according to the suit, the officer began to choke I.G. against the front door, then tackled him onto the living room couch and continued to choke him. The suit says they stopped after I.G. told them they were being videotaped, but after looking around they continued to "falsely arrest and imprison" the child, while J.G. watched and suffered an emotional breakdown.