A south suburban police officer arrested and charged a year ago as the "Honey Bee Killer" --
who went on a two-state shooting spree and killed one man -- has filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than $10 million for false arrest.
Lynwood Officer Brian Dorian filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Thursday, naming Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas, State’s Attorney James Glasgow and a sheriff’s detective as defendents.
The suit claims Dorian's Oct. 7, 2010 arrest was based on information that was coerced and influenced from one of the victims who was running from the killer. The victim gave a physical description of the gunman and the truck used in the shootings, which did not match Dorian, the suit said.
The killer, later believed to be slain robber Gary Amaya, shot two men in Beecher and a third outside Lowell, Ind., in October 2010. A 45-year-old man in the Beecher attack was killed.
But the victim was unduly influenced by sheriff’s officers and the Will County state’s attorney to speculate that Dorian was the gunman, the suit alleges.
Dorian told officials he was on his home computer at the time the attacks took place, the suit said. On Oct. 13, 2010, charges were dropped and Dorian was released from the Will County Detention Center, the suit said.
The six-count suit claims false arrest and imprisonment, conspiracy and malicious prosecution. It seeks a jury trial and more than $5 million in compensatory damages, more than $5 million in punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs.
The Will County Sheriff’s office said the investigation into the shootings was followed "to the letter of the law."
"We are confident a court will find the actions of the parties named as defendants in this lawsuit to be justified after all of the evidence is presented," said spokesman Charles Pelkie.
| Full Coverage: Brian Dorian |
