By Juan Perez Jr.
Tribune reporter
9:41 a.m. CDT, April 8, 2014
LaSalle County authorities will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars — and re-write some of its jail policies — to settle lawsuits filed after a female inmate was stripped naked by four sheriff’s deputies last year.
Attorney Terry Ekl, who announced the settlement agreement Tuesday morning, said the county will pay $355,000 in legal fees and settlement costs.
Dana Holmes of Coal City, Ekl’s client, cited jailhouse video in an October lawsuit that alleged LaSalle County authorities violated her civil rights and caused her emotional harm by stripping her naked without legal justification after she was arrested for drunken driving.
A sheriff’s incident report said Holmes was uncooperative while being searched.