River Forest Police Department and police officers sued

The Village of River Forest, its police department and some of its officers are facing suit over claims they altered a report and arrested a man without cause.

Micah Jefferson filed a lawsuit Dec. 12 in the Cook County Circuit Court against the village and its police department, as well as Officer Michael Swierczynski, Det. Sgt. Martin Grill and Det. Seth DeYoung, citing false arrest and/or fraud, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

According to the complaint, Jefferson was arrested without reasonable grounds and imprisoned for an alleged armed robbery that occurred in the 900 block of Bonnie Brae Place in River Forest. The alleged robbery victim admitted to police he had been drinking and could not identify the alleged offender, the suit states.

Jefferson claims Swierczynski wrote a report on the incident in which he indicated the victim had been drinking and could not identify the offender, but that Grill rewrote the report to omit the potential identification issue.

The suit states that DeYoung produced a suggestive photo array on July 23, 2010 to the victim, in which Jefferson's face was oversized and enhanced. As a result, Jefferson contends he was taken into custody and on was later found guilty on the charges.

He is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and is being represented in the case by Patrick M. Campanelli.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2013L014049.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.