Chicago Police Arrest Man After Propositioning Him
It was Rocio Palacios who first noticed the woman who appeared to need help.It was 8 a.m. when she and her husband, Erasmo, dropped their 6-year-old daughter off at school and had picked up their 22-year-old daughter to go out for breakfast when they saw the woman waving her arms at 53rd Street and Kedzie Avenue last November.
The Palacioses, of Chicago, claim the woman approached their car, parked outside Manolo’s restaurant, leaned in to the passenger side where Rocio was sitting and asked Erasmo if he wanted oral sex for $20 or sex for $25.
The couple laughed, realizing this wasn’t a woman in distress after all.
It wasn’t so funny when Erasmo was arrested and handcuffed by the police in front of his family. He was charged with solicitation of prostitution, and it took two weeks before the charges were dropped.
Erasmo is now suing the city of Chicago and the police officers involved in the arrest. So, either way, taxpayers lose. The city can only pay Erasmo with money it’s taken from his fellow citizens.
Now, we’ll never really “know” what was said to the disguised police officer who propositioned Erasmo. The police report says one thing while his family says another. What we do know is that the city impounded the family’s vehicle and refuses to return it to them until they pony up $4700 in “towing and storage” fees. Remember, this is AFTER the charges against Erasmo were dropped. Now, I’m not no fancy city lawyer, but that just doesn’t seem right.
Thanks to Radley Balko who posted this story on both his blog and for Reason Magazine.
“OK, towing ~$100. Storage $4600? What did they do, get the car an apartment in the Loop?” — Comment from the story posted at Reason’s Hit & Run.
on September 13th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Erasmo better sue them for everything. Those motherfucking thugs need to be fired.
on September 13th, 2007 at 10:58 am
So she pretended to be a respectable sex worker, but instead was just another whore. I can’t believe a woman would prostitute herself, sell her body to such dirty, vulgar work. There ought to be a law against uniformed criminals impersonating legitimate, private sector entrepreneurs and laborers.