Editor's note: Abuses such as those to Merien Macon when occurring in the Probate Court of Cook County are overlooked and treated as "probate matters". Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Senior citizen wins $330,000 in lawsuit over sheriff's officers' tactics
77-year-old woman was held at gunpoint, charged with obstruction of justice
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In the 40 years he has lived on a wide Austin neighborhood boulevard, 83-year-old William Macon has seen law enforcement interactions that struck him as heavy-handed: drivers stopped for no apparent reason and young men chased off corners.
And then four years ago it happened inside his gated front yard as he watched in shock while Cook County sheriff's officers serving a child support warrant arrest his then 77-year-old wife, Merien, at gunpoint for refusing to answer questions about their son's whereabouts.
Merien Macon was charged with felony obstruction of justice, leading her to file a lawsuit against Sheriff Tom Dart and the officers involved. A Cook County jury recently sided with her, awarding Macon $327,500 and agreeing with her husband that what happened that afternoon went too far.
"I've seen this type of thing over and over and over," William Macon said. "But when it happens to you it becomes more personal.
"At this point I'm not vindictive nor am I holding any grudges. (But) they should look into the case and check the background of the officers and see if they are still fit to serve and protect. … We don't want these kinds of people on the street taking advantage not only of older folks but younger ones. We pay their salaries. What is the world coming to?"
The sheriff's office is considering an appeal of the jury decision. A spokeswoman for Dart emphasized that Merien Macon had been with her son earlier in the day and that the officers contended, at the time and at trial, that she lied to them about that in an attempt to protect her son.
The officers who were named in the lawsuit — deputy sheriff Arthur Anthony and Lt. Ronald Banovic — are members of an 18-member sheriff's office team that for the past three years has aggressively pursued dads who fail to pay child support, serving thousands of warrants and summonses.
When the unit arrived at the Macons' home, two weeks before Merien's arrest, officers had two outstanding warrants for couple's son, Derrick Macon, then 50, including one for child support. Officers insisted they be allowed into the home, William Macon said.
Because the officers did not have a search warrant, William Macon refused, he said. They returned about two weeks later, on Nov. 18, having done a records search on both Macons, neither of whom had criminal records, their attorney, Elizabeth Kaveny, said. What officers failed to find in their records search was that Derrick Macon had a court order from years before saying he was not the father of the child in question, Kaveny said.
The officers conducted surveillance and stopped a family member leaving the Macon home who told them Derrick, in town visiting from Alabama, had been with his mother that morning, Kaveny said.
When the deputies saw Merien drive up to the back of the home, they approached with guns drawn — one pointed at her head as she sat in the car — and pressed her about her son's whereabouts, according to the lawsuit.
"I was really surprised when they walked up with their guns," Merien Macon, a retired clerical worker, said last week. "I was scared. I was shocked. I was surprised."
Macon, who had dropped off her son earlier, told them she didn't know where he was and she did not want to answer questions, Kaveny said.
"Our first fundamental right is the right to remain silent," said Kaveny. "She was well within her rights to say she did not want to provide them with information. But they wouldn't accept that, and they kept at her and kept at her. They continuously tried to wear her down because they thought she had information that they wanted. That is just not proper."
Next, the officers ordered Macon — who recounted the story at trial — to drive to the front of the house. As she tried to go inside, they stopped her and pushed further for details about her son, telling her that if she continued to lie they would arrest her, the lawsuit said.
At that point, Merien Macon became upset and told the officers she would not speak to them. The officers handcuffed, frisked and arrested Merien Macon on a charge of obstruction of justice.
"No matter what they were looking for, there was no reason to treat my wife that way," William Macon said. "Why put a pistol to her head? Embarrass her in front of all her neighbors?"
The officers then took her to a nearby parking lot, where they gave her a phone and told her to call her son and find out where he was.
"To me that sounds like a hostage situation," said William Macon, a retired electrician. "They held my wife hostage so that if she called (him) they would exchange her for him."
The sheriff's office denied attempting to pressure Macon to call her son and said she was moved to the parking lot because her husband had become upset and neighbors were starting to gather.
KawamotoDragon.com
And then four years ago it happened inside his gated front yard as he watched in shock while Cook County sheriff's officers serving a child support warrant arrest his then 77-year-old wife, Merien, at gunpoint for refusing to answer questions about their son's whereabouts.
Merien Macon was charged with felony obstruction of justice, leading her to file a lawsuit against Sheriff Tom Dart and the officers involved. A Cook County jury recently sided with her, awarding Macon $327,500 and agreeing with her husband that what happened that afternoon went too far.
"I've seen this type of thing over and over and over," William Macon said. "But when it happens to you it becomes more personal.
"At this point I'm not vindictive nor am I holding any grudges. (But) they should look into the case and check the background of the officers and see if they are still fit to serve and protect. … We don't want these kinds of people on the street taking advantage not only of older folks but younger ones. We pay their salaries. What is the world coming to?"
The sheriff's office is considering an appeal of the jury decision. A spokeswoman for Dart emphasized that Merien Macon had been with her son earlier in the day and that the officers contended, at the time and at trial, that she lied to them about that in an attempt to protect her son.
The officers who were named in the lawsuit — deputy sheriff Arthur Anthony and Lt. Ronald Banovic — are members of an 18-member sheriff's office team that for the past three years has aggressively pursued dads who fail to pay child support, serving thousands of warrants and summonses.
When the unit arrived at the Macons' home, two weeks before Merien's arrest, officers had two outstanding warrants for couple's son, Derrick Macon, then 50, including one for child support. Officers insisted they be allowed into the home, William Macon said.
Because the officers did not have a search warrant, William Macon refused, he said. They returned about two weeks later, on Nov. 18, having done a records search on both Macons, neither of whom had criminal records, their attorney, Elizabeth Kaveny, said. What officers failed to find in their records search was that Derrick Macon had a court order from years before saying he was not the father of the child in question, Kaveny said.
The officers conducted surveillance and stopped a family member leaving the Macon home who told them Derrick, in town visiting from Alabama, had been with his mother that morning, Kaveny said.
When the deputies saw Merien drive up to the back of the home, they approached with guns drawn — one pointed at her head as she sat in the car — and pressed her about her son's whereabouts, according to the lawsuit.
"I was really surprised when they walked up with their guns," Merien Macon, a retired clerical worker, said last week. "I was scared. I was shocked. I was surprised."
Macon, who had dropped off her son earlier, told them she didn't know where he was and she did not want to answer questions, Kaveny said.
"Our first fundamental right is the right to remain silent," said Kaveny. "She was well within her rights to say she did not want to provide them with information. But they wouldn't accept that, and they kept at her and kept at her. They continuously tried to wear her down because they thought she had information that they wanted. That is just not proper."
Next, the officers ordered Macon — who recounted the story at trial — to drive to the front of the house. As she tried to go inside, they stopped her and pushed further for details about her son, telling her that if she continued to lie they would arrest her, the lawsuit said.
At that point, Merien Macon became upset and told the officers she would not speak to them. The officers handcuffed, frisked and arrested Merien Macon on a charge of obstruction of justice.
"No matter what they were looking for, there was no reason to treat my wife that way," William Macon said. "Why put a pistol to her head? Embarrass her in front of all her neighbors?"
The officers then took her to a nearby parking lot, where they gave her a phone and told her to call her son and find out where he was.
"To me that sounds like a hostage situation," said William Macon, a retired electrician. "They held my wife hostage so that if she called (him) they would exchange her for him."
The sheriff's office denied attempting to pressure Macon to call her son and said she was moved to the parking lot because her husband had become upset and neighbors were starting to gather.
KawamotoDragon.com
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