IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

___________________________________

Austin Bennaza

Plaintiff                                                            

v.                                                                                        Civil Action No.

Officer LawDogg Lawlis   

&                                                                                   10-0014

Village of Kenilworth

Defendants                                                      

___________________________________ 

AFFIDAVIT OF AUSTIN BENNAZA

1.      I am a citizen of Illinois, and live at 377 Cheetah Court in Winnetka.

2. I was born on August 27, 1988.

3.      I am a law student and very familiar with the law.

4. On or about October 10, 2010 at 3:00 AM Kenilworth Police Officer LawDogg Lawlisstopped me while I was lawfully driving my mother's Jaguar on Sheridan Rd, within the city limits of Kenilworth, near the intersection with Kenilworth Avenue.

5. I was not speeding or driving in any way that would cause a reasonable police officer to make a traffic stop.

6. After I stopped, Officer Lawlis was belligerant, demeaning, and physically menacing, speaking in a rough, loud voice, and repeatedly calling me a "spoiled brat," and a "self-indulgent rich kid," who "races around in his Mommy's Jaguar."

7. I did not feel free to leave because of Officer Lawlis’ show of authority.

8. I did nothing to provoke Officer Lawlis and was in the process of complying with his request for my driver’s license, while rebuking Lawlis for his primitive, rude and insolent manner.

9.  While I was thus detained, Officer Lawlis smacked my hands and snatched my wallet away from me. while at the same time raising his flashlight as if to hit me with it.   

10. To avoid being hit by the flashlight, I turned to run away, and stumbled over the curb, suffering a concussion, bruised ribs, and a twisted ankle.

11.   Before this incident, I have been stopped repeatedly, without cause, by the Kenilworth police, evidencing the Kenilworth Police Department’s deliberate indifference to an obvious need for training of its officers, including Officer Lawlis.

12. I incurred medical expenses in excess of $25,000, and suffer severe emotional distress, among other things being afraid to go out with my friends in Chicago in the evenings when that necessitates returning home in an automobile travelling through Kenilworth.