City of Joliet reaches $16,000 settlement in false arrest lawsuit

A $16,000 settlement was reached in a federal lawsuit involving a woman who claimed she was falsely arrested by Joliet police officers on burglary and theft charges.

On June 9, 2023, Tarishea Autman, a former employee for Ulta Beauty, sued the city of Joliet and Joliet police detective James Kilgore following her arrest earlier that year. Kilgore initially believed Autman was one of the suspects who committed a theft in 2022 at Ulta Beauty, 2801 Plainfield Road, Joliet.

A settlement was reached last month when the city agreed to pay Autman and her attorneys $16,000 in exchange for her dropping her claims in the case.

Autman’s lawsuit claimed no facts existed to support the charges or the probable cause for her arrest on Jan. 26, 2023, shortly after she dropped off her daughter at school.

The events that led to Autman’s arrest began Nov. 19, 2022, when police responded to a report of three people stealing merchandise from Ulta Beauty, court records show. One of the suspects dropped a box of cologne during the incident.

A fingerprint was pulled off that box that was assigned a State Identification Number, which occurs when someone is arrested, according to Kilgore’s deposition. That fingerprint was linked to Autman, he said.

Kilgore said based on his training experience, Autman had been processed for a past offense that might have been expunged. In Autman’s deposition, she denied having any convictions on her record.

Kilgore said he also reviewed video footage from Ulta Beauty and saw that one of the suspects resembled Autman. Another officer agreed with the resemblance, he said.

After reviewing the fingerprint and video evidence, a prosecutor approved charges against Autman, and a judge issued a warrant for her arrest.

But when Autman’s arresting officer showed Kilgore her Ulta Beauty identification card and it was confirmed she was employed by them, Kilgore made the “immediate determination” there was a “high probability” she was not involved in the crime, according to Kilgore’s deposition.

In Autman’s deposition, she said Kilgore told her, “Someone dropped the ball,” and “They got your name mixed up.” Autman said she was later told she was free to go.

Kilgore contacted a prosecutor to quash the warrant and she was not formally booked, according to his deposition.

One of the officers at the police department told Autman the incident “will be a funny story” to tell her children one day, according to Autman’s deposition.

But it was far from funny for Autman.

Autman said she was “humiliated in my community and near my daughter’s school.” Autman said she suffered anxiety and ultimately left her job because she felt she couldn’t perform one of her duties that involved making reports to the police.

“I don’t trust the fact that if I give the police the report that they’re going to handle it correctly,” Autman said in her deposition.

Attorneys for the city requested dismissal of Autman’s lawsuit in a summary judgment motion. In a March 29 court filing, David Matheus, one of those attorneys, said Autman had no evidence Kilgore made false statements or held back evidence.

Matheus contended Kilgore had probable cause to arrest Autman, whose “fundamental grievance” was the detective failed to take additional steps in his investigation that “might have revealed exculpatory information.”

“But probable cause does not require chasing down every lead or developing an airtight case,” Matheus argued.

Matheus cited a 1989 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that held officers who’ve discovered “sufficient facts to establish probable cause” have no constitutional obligation to conduct further investigation “in the hopes of uncovering potentially exculpatory evidence.”

Before Autman’s arrest, Kilgore did not speak with Autman, visit the store or speak with any of the employees, according to his deposition. Autman’s name was not listed among the employees in a report drafted by an officer who responded to the 2022 theft, he said.

Kilgore said he didn’t regret obtaining the warrant for Autman’s arrest but he acknowledged “some type of mistake” was made regarding the arrest.