Eventually, Steffey was arrested and taken to the Stark County Jail, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. But once in custody, her attorney says seven jail workers, male and female, forcibly removed Steffey of all her clothes, including her undergarments, while she lay face down in handcuffs. Local news footage shows Steffey wailing, asking "What are you doing?!?"The cops are not your friends. They can - and do - do anything they want. And blame it all on your "resisting arrest" or whatever.
"And you have to ask yourself, what was the purpose of the strip search?" said Steffey's lawyer. "What was the necessity of it? This was a disorderly conduct claim."
The lawsuit says that Steffey remained in the cell for six hours and wrapped herself in toilet paper to stay warm. During that time, she was not allowed to use a phone or seek medical assistance for injuries she accrued that night, including a cracked tooth, bulging disc, and bruises.
The video is here. (Not on YouTube as the referenced story indicates.) The police - in the person of the Sheriff - say "all is well." They don't believe they did anything wrong, even though they had 2 men (at least) strip a woman in handcuffs naked. They stripped her naked for 'her own protection.' [via ifeminists.com]
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