Motorist drops strip search suit vs. La Salle County

A motorist who alleged she was stripped in her La Salle County jail cell in 2017 has dropped her lawsuit against La Salle County.
Zandrea D. Askew, a resident of Newark, N.J., at the time of her arrest, had filed a lawsuit early last year against Sheriff Tom Templeton and at least seven deputies in federal court, alleging she was unnecessarily stripped of her clothes.
At the time of the filing, the Marine Corps veteran stated she cooperated with the arresting officers yet was "forcibly dragged" into a cell and "unreasonably and deliberately attacked and restrained." The video-recorded incident was released to Chicago media at the time of the filing.
La Salle County insisted they were following proper procedures; and court records from her criminal case (later dismissed) alleged she "struggled" with officers.
Askew was scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago later this month; but then the lawsuit was withdrawn and the case closed late last week.
Lawyers for Askew and the county did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
In a stipulated dismissal order, Askew voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit with prejudice, meaning she cannot re-file. The parties further agreed to bear their own respective legal costs.
Tom Collins can be reached at (815) 220-6930 or TCollins@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_Court.