SHOREWOOD — A Shorewood woman received a $760,000 settlement after police arrested her inside her home without a warrant.
Lawyers believe it’s the largest civil rights settlement without an injury or death in state history—and it was all caught on camera.
The plaintiff was Stephanie Rapkin. She spit on a Black Lives Matter protester in the summer of 2020 and was eventually convicted of disorderly conduct.
But the incident that resulted in the massive settlement for Rapkin stems from what happened the next day at her home.
"This is the chick that did the spitting on the kid's face,” an officer said as he arrived on the scene.
Surveillance video takes us to Rapkin’s home on June 7, 2020. Officers responded to an assault complaint from a small group of protesters who gathered outside.
A man told officers Rapkin came out of her home and shoved him. She then went inside her home and locked the door.
Body camera footage shows officers knocking on her door for about 30 minutes while making it clear to each other that they were there to arrest her for disorderly conduct.
"If she comes out, arrest her,” an officer said.
Officers on the scene made no mention of obtaining a warrant to enter Rapkin’s home to arrest her.
Watch: Shorewood woman gets $760,000 settlement in ‘unlawful search & seizure’ lawsuit
A neighbor then told an officer that Rapkin had taken a sleeping pill about 12 hours earlier.
"I know she took a dose this morning and then probably another couple of doses because she couldn't get to sleep,” the neighbor said.
"So she's taking multiple doses of sleeping medication?" a police lieutenant asked.
"I don't know,” the neighbor replied.
Police decided to break into the locked home to do a welfare check. An officer is seen breaking through the front door of the home and several officers enter with their service weapons drawn.
"Gentlemen, do you have a warrant?" Rapkin asked.
"We're here for a community caretaker, OK?" an officer replied.
"Community caretaker? I'm perfectly fine. I'm sleeping,” Rapkin said.
Rapkin was immediately placed under arrest in her dining room.
Rapkin: "You're going to arrest me in my own home? No! For sleeping in my own home?"
Officer: "No, for assaulting an individual outside."
Police video shows a scuffle ensued while putting Rapkin in handcuffs.
“You don't knee me in my groin. Do you understand me? What is wrong with you?" an officer said.
Rapkin was escorted out of her home to an applause from protesters outside as she was put in the patrol vehicle.
After the arrest, Rapkin, an attorney herself, hired lawyers and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit.
Her attorney, James Odell, says the case was all about an alleged violation of the 4th Amendment which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
“Do you think this is an example of police misconduct?” TMJ4 reporter Ben Jordan asked.
"Our claim is that it was,” Odell replied. “I think that if you watch the videotape, I think that reasonable minds could conclude from that that the police officers here had a really easy route to avoid trouble which is just call a judge."
Odell says if police truly entered Rapkin’s home for a welfare check, they should have left after realizing she was safe.
"You're not allowed to stick around and hope that you get the opportunity to do police activity when you were really supposed to be there to make sure everyone was safe,” Odell said.
Shorewood’s response to the complaint denied any wrongdoing. The village manager told TMJ4 that residents don’t have to pay for the $760,000 settlement because it was covered by insurance.
"There are many factors that an insurer evaluates when settling a claim on behalf of an insured," said Village Manager Rebecca Ewald. "In this instance, there was a 'fee shifting' provision under federal law in which the insurer would have had to pay the plaintiff’s attorneys fees even if the jury awarded the plaintiff only a dollar. Additionally, the overall cost to litigate and take a case to trial in federal court is substantial."
Odell says the lawsuit could have been avoided altogether if police had gotten a warrant.
"The law is very simple,” he said. “You should get a warrant unless there's very specific circumstances and what that means is there has to be an emergency and the emergency has to be so pressing that you just don't have time to talk to the judge to get the approval. We understand police officers have to make split-second decisions sometimes to protect us and to catch bad guys - but our claim here is that if you have enough time to sit around and debate what you're going to do, you have enough time to pick up the phone and call a judge."
While Rapkin’s attorneys were happy to talk, she turned down our request for an interview.
Shorewood’s police chief says none of the officers involved in this incident were suspended or disciplined for their actions.
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