The 18-year-old daughter of a Chicago police officer filed a federal lawsuit against the Normal Police Department on Feb. 23. Taylor Brown was arrested in the central Illinois town of Normal after a fire broke out in her apartment.
According to the lawsuit, a fire erupted in Brown’s apartment on Feb. 8 in Normal, where Brown attends college. The student’s roommate dialed 911, and the fire department arrived at the unit located near 208 Parktrail Road with the police at around 12:42 a.m.
Brown was asked to go with officers to the police department for questioning, to which she agreed.
“Upon arrival, the police officers who responded to the call with the fire officials asked Ms.
Brown to wait in a squad car that was parked in front of her residence until the officers were ready to speak to her,” says the lawsuit. “Shortly thereafter, an Unknown Normal Police Officer asked Ms. Brown if she would be willing to go to the Normal Police Station to answer questions about the fire.”
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While at the police station, Brown called her Chicago Police Department mother on FaceTime as she stood in what appeared to be a lobby waiting for the officers to ask her about the fire in her apartment. She waited more than 40 minutes and asked to go home after no one questioned her. Video footage shows a female police officer approaching Brown in the lobby and informing the confused and displaced student that they were seizing her phone.
“Who are you on the phone with? So, we’re gonna need to seize your phone,” said the officer as Brown asked her why. “Seize my phone? For what?”
“So, go ahead and hang up,” the officer replied.
Brown told her mother on the video, “I’m not under arrest, but they wanna seize my phone.”
“You’re not under arrest, but your phone’s gonna be seized,” the officer replied as she reached for Brown’s phone. Brown backed up a step as several other police officers can be seen tactically surrounding her. The student refused to give up her phone and told her mother she was afraid.
“They’re all around me,” Brown told her mother.
