A Peoria woman’s federal lawsuit against a Beardstown Police officer for alleged civil rights violations for use of excessive force and unreasonable seizure has been settled out of court.
According to court documents filed on Friday, the settlement between Lisa McMahon and Beardstown Police Officer Ian Dennis and the Beardstown Police Department have been stipulated to and signed off by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but a settlement was confirmed by Louis Myers, McMahon’s attorney, in written communication with WLDS News on Monday.
On February 15, 2021, Lisa T. McMahon, a resident of Tazewell County was in Beardstown visiting a friend. McMahon is said to have driven to the Wheel Inn to play slot machines around 3PM, and then left the Wheel Inn on foot between 6:45 and 7PM after witnessing a single-vehicle crash. McMahon is said to have used her phone to record video of people attempting to remove the vehicle from a ditch. According to eye witnesses to the crash, they told arriving Beardstown officers that an unknown white female that was intoxicated tried to dissuade people from calling the police over the crash and discussed “blackmailing” the driver involved in the crash. The unknown female was later identified as McMahon.
Further court documents indicate that McMahon left the Wheel Inn on foot to her friend’s house nearby and entered their garage. Officer Dennis is said to have followed McMahon to the residence after following footprints in the snow. Once Officer Dennis arrived on scene, their following interactions becomes a timeline of disputed information in court documents. McMahon is said to have received extensive facial injuries after being detained by Dennis, in what McMahon’s counsel characterized as unnecessary and illegal use of force for what was called a Terry stop.
A trial for the case was slated to start in July, but was postponed after Judge Myerscough denied a partial summary judgment in the case.