A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Lakemoor police officer who was fired after suffering PTSD from a struggle with an armed murder suspect who tried to kill her.
Brianna McCarty, who previously went by the name Brianna Tedesco, filed a five-count federal lawsuit in October 2022 against the Village of Lakemoor and then-Lakemoor Police Chief David Godlewski.
The suit alleged the village and police department committed Americans with Disabilities Act violations and Illinois tort violations by engaging in an “ongoing practice of discrimination and retaliation.”
McCarty, 31, was hired as a police officer in Lakemoor in June 2017 and terminated in August 2019.
She was on routine patrol around 5 a.m. on July 26, 2018, when she came across an occupied SUV on a narrow gravel road near Four Seasons Boulevard and Sullivan Lake Road.
The man inside the car, Kenneth E. Martell, 36, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, was wanted for murder after he tied, robbed, beat and stabbed to death 88-year-old Theodore Garver in his Beaver Township, Pennsylvania home three days prior.
McCarty found Martell lying down inside the vehicle. She asked him for identification and he gave her a fake name.
McCarty then asked Martell for written identification and he pointed a handgun at her head.
A struggle ensued and the two began fighting over the gun. Martell pulled the trigger several times as the struggle continued but the gun did not fire. Martell then pulled out a second gun.
Lakemoor Police Officer Anthony Loiacono, who was the backup officer to McCarty, arrived at the scene.
Loiacono fired one shot, which struck Martell in the head, after he saw the man was armed with a handgun in each of his hands.
Martell was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. An autopsy showed that Martell had numerous traces of drugs in his system at the time of his death.
Following a lengthy Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request battle involving the Village of Lakemoor and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, the bodycam and dashcam video was released to Lake and McHenry County Scanner and the video went viral.
Editor’s Note: The below video could be considered shocking or disturbing to the viewer. Viewer discretion is advised.
McCarty was praised for her bravery and honored by police departments and law enforcement groups.
The lawsuit said McCarty was placed on administrative leave after the shooting and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
McCarty felt pressured to return to work after several other officers encouraged her to return because they were forced to work overtime in her absence, the suit said.
McCarty was placed on light duty and eventually returned to full duty but was uncomfortable working the night shift because of the shooting.
Fellow officers allegedly told her to “put on her big girl pants” and sometimes failed to respond to her calls for backup, the lawsuit said.
The suit also alleged McCarty was eventually terminated from the department after they did not reasonably accommodate her by allowing her to work with a partner or allow her to work the day shift.
The federal lawsuit sought the court to order the village to reinstate McCarty to her former position and award her damages.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland issued a memorandum opinion and order in the case.
The judge’s order granted the Village of Lakemoor’s request for summary judgment, meaning the lawsuit has been dismissed.
Rowland also rejected a request from McCarty who sought the court to impose sanctions on the Village of Lakemoor.
In the 25-page opinion and order, the judge found that McCarty was not a qualified individual under the ADA and that she rejected the village’s reasonable accommodations.
Rowland also said that McCarty failed to report her co-workers’ harassment, except for one instance, to the police chief.
The Village of Lakemoor said in a statement on Thursday that the lawsuit filed against them was frivolous.
Village officials also said the judge left in place a mechanism to go after McCarty to recoup taxpayer dollars that were spent defending the suit.
“The Village of Lakemoor conducted itself in a lawful and proper manner throughout this unfortunate event, this was proven today by the Judge’s ruling. The Village will continue to stand behind our law enforcement personnel but must continue to be diligent in ensuring the sanctity of the system and the laws of the State of Illinois,” the statement said.