Lawyer files suit against disbanded La Salle County SAFE Team

The SAFE Team isn’t quite finished in court, after all.

Barely two weeks after the fourth (and seemingly final) lawsuit against the disbanded La Salle County State’s Attorney Felony Enforcement Team was withdrawn, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of two motorists detained in 2013.

Dion Bullock and James Davis Jr. have filed a lawsuit in federal court against La Salle County, former state’s attorney Brian Towne and as-yet-unnamed defendants (listed in court records as John Does) attached to the former drug interdiction team.

A hearing is set for March 25 before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. Towne said he had not, as of Monday, been served with the complaint.

An attorney for La Salle County has not yet entered an appearance on

behalf of the county, according to federal court records.

In the complaint, Lake Bluff attorney Jack Boehm variously alleged unlawful search and seizure, false arrest and unjust enrichment, among other claims.

Most claims have been raised before and in cases that were dismissed because the statute of limitations expired. Boehm, however, when reached by telephone, said Bullock and Davis had their convictions vacated and that gives them a fresh bite at the apple.

“Once you vacate, the statute of limitations resets for two years,” Boehm said, citing the applicable case law. “That’s our position.”

Actually, Boehm represents another former SAFE Team detainee, Jeffrey Straker of California, in separate federal action. That case was filed Nov. 14; but for reasons not yet clear a summons for the defendants was not issued until Feb. 4. La Salle County was only recently alerted to the case’s existence.

A total of 74 people were charged with felonies after being pulled over by the SAFE Team. Most of them pleaded guilty, but a California woman challenged her arrest and prevailed at three venues, including the Illinois Supreme Court.

Tom Collins can be reached at (815) 220-6930 or TCollins@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_Court.