Hope Steffey Update: 5th Woman Comes Forward With Abuse Charges

by matttbastard

WKYC reports that a 5th woman has come forward with allegations that Stark County law enforcement officials forced her to strip unlawfully:

“Elizabeth” fears reprisals for speaking out so she prefers we not use her last name.

She says a Stark County Sheriff’s deputy pulled her over one night for failing to signal during a lane change. Elizabeth says she had to undergo a field sobriety test. According to the officer’s incident report, she failed some aspects of the test. She was arrested for driving under the influence and taken to the station for further testing.

She was told to blow into a breathylyzer, but she suffers from asthma. When she failed to produce enough air, she says a deputy told her, “Baby we both know you can blow harder than that. She says a second deputy laughed. The officer marked her as a “refusal” for not blowing harder.

She was told to blow into a breathylyzer, but she suffers from asthma. When she failed to produce enough air, she says a deputy told her, “Baby we both know you can blow harder than that. She says a second deputy laughed. The officer marked her as a “refusal” for not blowing harder.

[…]

When Elizabeth was told to remove all her clothes, she did so voluntarily saying she worked at a medium security prison in Ohio and knew her clothes would be forcibly removed if she failed to obey.

The incident report says Elizabeth wanted to commit suicide. But she says that’s just not true. “I’ve never been suicidal. I’m not suicidal. I was terrified,” she told the Investigator.

Related: Text of Hope Steffey’s suit against Stark County sheriff Tim Swanson (PDF, h/t john454)

Background: more on the Hope Steffy incident here, here and here.

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Hope Steffey Update: Unlawful strip search part of “a pattern” in Stark County

by matttbastard

WKYC reports that since the release of the now-notorious Hope Steffey ‘strip search’ video, 4 more Stark County, Ohio women, including Valentina Dyshko of North Canton, have come forward alleging that they were forced to remove their clothing when detained at the Stark County Jail:

Dyshko came forward to tell her story after she learned of Hope Steffey, the Stark County woman who was stripped naked by both men and women and left in a jail cell for 6 hours.

Dyshko says video of Steffey’s treatment reminded her of what she experienced 2 years ago inside the same jail.

Dyshko came to North Canton nine years ago, she says, to escape the fear of KGB persecution in Ukraine. Her ordeal inside the Stark County Jail stemmed from a home schooling issue. She says there was some confusion over the use of certain textbooks. “It was all a big mix-up”, said her attorney Dennis Niermann.

Dyskho was educating 2 of her 8 children at home. She received a notice from the Stark County Sheriff about a warrant for her arrest from the Stark County Family Court. When Dyshko arrived at the Sheriff’s office, she says she was quickly handcuffed and thrown in jail on a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

After this mother of 8 spent 3 days behind bars, a judge reviewed her case and quickly dismissed the case.

Lawyers for Dyhsko say she had to remove all her clothes because someone inside the jail determined she was suicidal. Dyshko says she’s never been suicidal. She complained to Channel 3 News that the gown she was given in the jail kept falling down, and at times, exposed her naked chest to male guards. “She was asked to remove her clothes and her undergarments. What’s the purpose of that? It’s demeaning,” said Niermann.

Attorney David Malik believes these cases are indicative of “a pattern where apparently every woman who cries or gets emotional is deemed suicidal.” Hey now, a textbook mix up is serious business; those crazy home schoolers who turn themselves in of their own accord obviously present a dire threat to not only themselves but also those poor, defenceless law enforcement officials. Besides, everyone knows the only surefire cure for hysteria–and the only way to keep everyone involved safe–is for detained women to remove all constricting clothes.

Safety (and compliance) first.

Previously: Obey: The Sequel

Hope Steffey Update: State Attorney General To Investigate

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Hope Steffey Update: State Attorney General To Investigate

by matttbastard

Larry Shields of the Salem News reports that Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson has officially requested that Ohio Attorney General Mark Dan “review all the circumstances surrounding the arrest and incarceration of Hope Steffey in October of 2006,” a vicious incident labelled “way out of line” by Cuyahoga county Sheriff Gerald McFaul (h/t ThePoliticalCat).  

Additionally, Muriel Kane of The Raw Story reports that video footage taken prior to the now-infamous strip search tape may exist, noting that “jailhouse surveillance cameras show a deputy with a handheld camera filming Steffey being escorted to her cell.” 

Kane also suggests that dashboard video of the arrest, originally believed to be non-existent because the arresting officer claimed the camera was off, may not have been disclosed to Steffey’s lawyers. 

Just remember, kids: Steffey is a convicted criminal; don’t let THE MEDIA (and ur lyin’ eyes) deceive you; that’s Sheriff Swanson’s duty.

*blinks* 

Previously: Obey: The Sequel.

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