Homewood Resident Accuses Members of the Illinois State Police of Rape in Lawsuit

By J. Coyden Palmer December 14, 2021

In the early morning hours of September 28, 2019, Illinois State Police responded to a traffic accident call in the northbound lanes of I-294 near mile marker eight in the municipality of Bremen Township. It was dark, raining, there were debris all over the road and two cars off to the side. One had crashed into the median; the other was pulled off to the right shoulder about a quarter of a mile away. Illinois Tollway workers were already on the scene assisting the driver of the vehicle that had crashed into the median that was being driven by Homewood resident Zataunia R. Taitt. What happened in the 90 minutes after ISP Troopers Christopher Ehlers and Randy McKenzie arrived is still not fully understood. However, dashcam video from inside Trooper Ehlers and McKenzie cars, incident reports obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, testimony from both troopers at a DUI trial this fall and an exclusive series of interviews with Taitt herself leads to some compelling questions that state police are reluctant to answer.

Taitt claims in a federal lawsuit that was filed this past September that after she was arrested and fingerprinted by Ehlers and McKenzie, she was driven home by McKenzie and at some point, sexually assaulted by one or both of the troopers. The suit, which was filed in the Northern District of Illinois, names Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, Troopers McKenzie and Ehlers, state investigator Kiara Haynes and others in engaging in a conspiracy to cover up the actions of Ehlers and McKenzie. She is seeking damages to compensate for all bodily and emotional harm, along with pain and suffering. She is also seeking punitive damages against individual defendants if applicable.

Taitt alleges in her lawsuit, that instead of calling for an ambulance immediately when he arrived on the scene, Ehlers instead removed Taitt from her vehicle and left her on the side of the road while he performed an illegal search of her vehicle. An IDOT employee at the scene is heard on video telling the troopers that he didn’t know if Taitt’s car had spun out, but that she was holding her head. Taitt contends she was involved in an accident with another vehicle, the responding troopers disagreed and she was taken into custody at the scene.

DUI Case Against Taitt Disintegrates

On Sept. 2, 2021, nearly two years after she was charged with a DUI and three other offenses, Taitt, whose friends call her Zat, dressed in an all-white pants suit, had her day in court. She was represented in court by Public Defender Danielle Mobley. Taitt by this time had grown frustrated with the judicial process and she claimed the State’s Attorney’s Office was stalling because they knew there was no case against her and they were afraid of a civil lawsuit she was threatening to file against the ISP that was going to accuse the state’s top law enforcement agency of engaging in a coverup. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Ryesha Patterson, who had only been a practicing prosecutor for 10 months at the time of the trial, had filed a motion to have questions about Taitt’s alleged sexual assault be restricted from the trial, arguing this case was about a DUI and not something that may or may not have occurred afterwards. Judge Vincenzo Chimera elected to hold off on ruling on the motion for now. He wanted to hear how it would relate to the case once arguments began.

During the trial, Patterson’s inexperience showed. She often had objections against her sustained by Judge Chimera and at one point she had another attorney sit at the table with her to guide her through her examination of witnesses. It was a sign of things to come for the prosecution as Atty. Mobley poked holes in the story of the state’s two key witnesses, Troopers Ehlers and McKenzie.

Ehlers has recently been assigned to the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force and is no longer doing patrols for the ISP, he said during his testimony. The 13-year veteran was the first officer on the scene. Ehlers testified that he noticed there was a second vehicle up the road that had its hazard lights on, but he did not speak with that driver when he first arrived. Instead, he focused on Taitt, who he said was uninjured, but had an odor of alcohol on her breath and bloodshot eyes. He said he assisted Trooper McKenzie in inventorying the items in Taitt’s car but did not request for medical assistance. He testified that he believed a citizen had called for an ambulance, but McKenzie would later testify that he called for an ambulance, but he suspected Taitt would refuse services. He is heard on dashcam audio telling someone off screen, “it’s going to be a refusal,” before Taitt is even asked by the paramedics.

Under cross examination, Ehlers testified that he did not witness the crash and did not perform a crash reconstruction analysis of the accident. Crash reconstruction analytics are often used as evidence in traffic accidents that result in a fatality or injury. When asked why he chose not to do this procedure by Atty. Mobley, he responded:

“I didn’t consider this a major crash.”

Mobley pressed him on his statement. He reiterated that he didn’t consider it a major crash because only one car was involved. Not so according to Taitt, who did not testify at her trial but told jcoydenreports she believes the other vehicle was involved in the crash, this is why it had pulled over to the side as well. Ehlers said the vehicle had driven over road debris and had only suffered tire damage. In any event, McKenzie said he arranged to have the other car towed away and Ehlers and McKenzie deemed it a one-car accident.

Mobley argued the two troopers came to that determination within minutes of arriving on the scene and without conducting a proper investigation and immediately focused their attention on Taitt. Ehlers admitted on the witness stand that Taitt’s bloodshot eyes and slurred speech could have been caused by being hit with the air bags when they deployed. He also testified the smell of alcohol on a person’s breath alone does not indicate they are unable to operate a vehicle safely.

Under oath, McKenzie testified he arrived on the scene minutes after Ehlers. He said he escorted Taitt to his car and detected a smell of alcohol on her breath. He said she would not provide any details of what happened but insisted she had been cleared by the paramedics before he spoke with her.

In audio and video recordings from McKenzie’s vehicle that were played in court, a female paramedic asks Taitt if she is alright. She responds: “yes I’m fine.” When the paramedic asks Taitt if she wants to go to the hospital, she again responds with: “no hospital.” But as the ambulance is seen driving away in the background, Taitt can also be heard saying: “wait don’t leave me y’all. Come back.” Taitt said she remembers at one point being outside of the car trying to chase down the ambulance when Trooper McKenzie intervenes and stops her and walks her back to the vehicle.

McKenzie testified that he took Taitt to the Illinois Tollway’s M1 facility located at 12557 S. LaPorte, just a few miles from the crash scene, where he performed a number of field sobriety tests. He said he noticed involuntary jerking of the eyes, wobbly walking and lethargic speech from Taitt. He also said she had trouble staying awake in the ride to the station, which is seen on the video. Taitt says on the recordings that she had some wine and drank some shots, yet neither McKenzie nor Ehlers took Taitt to a hospital to have her blood drawn to see if her alcohol consumption was above the state’s .08 limit.

Dr. David Thomas is a professor of forensic studies and criminal justice at Florida Gulf Coast University. He served 20 years on the Gainesville Florida Police Department before retiring. He said some of the actions Troopers McKenzie and Ehlers took or didn’t take in the Taitt case made no sense.

“To take her home without taking her to the hospital, in this case left both the ISP and the trooper exposed to liability,” Thomas said. “If there would have been a major medical incident to occur associated with the crash, a catastrophic head injury such as a brain bleed, stroke, dizzy spells, or falling and sustaining an injury from the fall. Keep in mind that there is case law, once a person is placed in the back of a patrol and moved, whether they are advised they are under arrest or not, they are considered in custody, because they do not have the ability to leave. This means that the suspect is now the responsibility of the officer and their respective organization.” 

This decision by the Troopers would haunt the prosecution as after closing arguments in the case, Judge Chimera ruled on a defense motion to have all charges against Taitt dropped. In his ruling for the defense, Chimera said:

“I watched the video and Ms. Taitt seemed to not only respond to your questions, but was able to have a conversation with you. That does not appear to me to be a person who is under the influence and unable to operate a vehicle. I also have a problem with how the Horizontal Nystagmus Test (HGN) was administered, especially after knowing that Ms. Taitt was involved in a fairly significant car accident where the air bags were deployed.”

Judge Chimera said without any medical evidence to support the prosecution’s claims, he had no choice but to dismiss the case. Taitt and her attorney embraced after the ruling. Even though the case was during the pandemic, she was allowed to have a few friends and family members in the courtroom for support. She then turned her attention to the allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Taitt Fires Back

Even before her case concluded, Taitt has been on a one-woman campaign to make others aware of what she claimed happened to her. She filed complaints with the Office of the Executive Inspector General and Illinois State Police Office of Internal Affairs, of which jcoydenreports obtained copies. In her complaint to the ISP, Taitt writes:

“After the crash, I was going in and out of consciousness due to the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), not falling asleep due to alcohol. What happened to me between 3:33 a.m. and 4:35 a.m.?”

Taitt said she has contacted every agency imaginable that could have some oversite over police conduct. She said at this point, all of her efforts to get someone to substantiate her claims and move forward with action have failed. She took her case all the way to Washington D.C. and marched with other sexual abuse survivors and contacted the F.B.I while she was there. Like many people these days, Taitt took to social media to call her alleged assailants out by name. That drew the attention of Trooper Ehlers.

Attorney Zeno J. Toscas was hired by Trooper Ehlers in an attempt to get Taitt to stop posting on social media her claims that she was assaulted by Ehlers. In the cease-and-desist letter that was sent to Taitt and obtained by jcoydenreports dated July 21, 2020, Taitt was accused of making false statements that Ehlers committed a crime against her and warned that further action could result in legal action being taken against her. The statements Taitt made were unequivocally false, according to Toscas. Taitt was asked to sign and return the letter. Toscas said Taitt never returned the letter. Taitt said she received the letter, ignored it and kept doing what she had been doing before, but was more careful with her wording, but still calling out the troopers by name.

“The limited scope that we were engaged with was only to advise any kind of Facebook postings or messages that were received did it cross the threshold of any sort of defamation against Trooper Ehlers,” explained Toscas, who said he does not represent Ehlers in the pending lawsuit. “When your words go from an opinion about someone into accusing them of committing a crime, that is where the law draws the line. Once you accuse someone of committing a crime you are not sharing your opinion, that is when you cross that threshold,” Toscas said.

Toscas said there were some postings and messages that were defamatory due to the inaccuracy and facts of the matter. Taitt said what she posted was not inaccurate, which was why she ignored the letter. Toscas said his firm did not reach out to any of the social media outlets to inform them of what Taitt was doing. Toscas said a third-party ran an investigation and could not corroborate any of the accusations Taitt was making. He also said even though legal action was threatened against Taitt, no legal action was taken even as she continued to make social media posts about the incident.

Other Incidents Involving Trooper Ehlers

Trooper Ehlers has been involved in at least two other high-profile incidents involving citizens. A Harvey man, Darren Green Jr., was shot and killed after a struggle ensued between, he and Trooper Ehlers during a traffic stop in October of 2020. Green was killed when a bullet from a gun he was possessing struck him in the head during the struggle. Ehlers was cleared of any wrongdoing.

In another case, Ehlers is accused of using unnecessary force against a woman, who according to her attorney, is still traumatized after her incident with Ehlers. An investigation into Ehler’s actions also cleared him of any wrongdoing in that case.

In the early morning hours of July 20, 2013, Vickie Glanz of Skokie was pulled over by Trooper Ehlers for a traffic violation, according to documents obtained from the Illinois State Police through an FOIA request. Dashcam from Ehlers squad car shows him forcefully removing Glanz from her vehicle and throwing her on the ground. When she resists or takes actions to defend herself, depending on how the video is interpreted, she is thrown to the ground again and handcuffed by Ehlers. Glanz was charged with DUI, same as Taitt, resisting arrest, speeding, improper lane usage and illegal transportation of alcohol.

According to a field report filed by Ehlers, he spotted Glanz’s vehicle traveling 59 m.p.h. in a 40-m.p.h. zone. He also wrote he observed the vehicle swerve into the right lane on two separate occasions. Ehlers initiated his emergency lights and spotlight pulling the vehicle over at 1:52 a.m. in the northbound lane of 162nd and Halsted. Ehlers claims Glanz was unclear about providing her auto insurance and about that time he detected the odor of alcohol and observed Glanz’s eyes being bloodshot and glassy in color. He then asks Glanz how much she had to drink. He wrote in his report her response as “nothing.”

After their conversation, Ehlers wrote he reached into Glanz’s vehicle to take her car keys for his safety and a fear she would drive away. He then asked Glanz to step out of her vehicle. She replied “no.” Ehlers claims he asked her to step outside of the vehicle to ensure that she was alright to drive. Glanz refused continuously and attempted to make a phone call. Ehlers is seen in the video becoming more agitated and eventually he opens Glantz’s car door and forcefully removes her from the vehicle. The two continue to struggle outside the vehicle as a citizen and off-duty Harvey police detective who saw what was going on, assisted Ehlers in taking Glanz into custody.

She was then transported by Ehlers to the Markham lockup where Ehlers writes he read Glanz her warnings and began a 20-minute observation. At the conclusion he asked Glanz to participate in a breathalyzer test. Glanz declined to take the test just as Taitt did.

In Taitt’s case, a bombshell was revealed in court as both Troopers Ehlers and McKenzie testified that McKenzie drove Taitt home himself, less than 90 minutes after he first made contact with her and after he had booked her for DUI. He also writes it on his arrest report that he took Taitt home at approximately 4:30 a.m. McKenzie also writes Taitt had posted her driver’s license and was issued a $1,000 recognizance bond.

Taitt says she would have never wanted to be taken home by the police. She said she could have called any number of family members or friends to come and pick her up. She said because of her head injury, she has no recollection of being driven home and no idea how she got in the house, only remembering waking up the next day in pain and suffering from nausea.

Dr. Thomas said in all of his years of policing, he has never heard of an officer driving an arrested DUI suspect home just because of all of the things that could possibly go wrong. Thomas said the standard would be to keep the arrestee in a holding cell, allowing them their phone call and other legal rights, but never driving someone home, especially a female subject at 4 a.m. who you suspect is unable to make clear decisions on their own.

“I have never seen a DUI arrest, where the suspect did not spend eight hours in the jail and given an opportunity to sober up before being released,” Thomas wrote in an email to jcoydenreports after reviewing the lawsuit. “This is to protect the public and ensure that the suspect does not get in a car and drive impaired or intoxicated. I have never seen a case where an officer drove a suspect home after a DUI.”

Thomas continued by saying what McKenzie did in this case was probably against IISP policy and he should have been disciplined for his actions by the ISP. To date there is no record of any disciplinary action taken against McKenzie or Ehlers as it relates to the Taitt case.

Taitt’s damaged vehicle speaks to the impact of the crash. In photos obtained by jcoydenreports it is clear there was a high-impact to the driver’s side front of the vehicle. The photos also show the air bags had deployed. There is major front-end damage to the vehicle and the driver’s side window is shattered.

“The victim’s damaged vehicle supports the complaint that she sustained a head injury,” Thomas said. “Looking at the pictures through the window you can see that the air bags did deploy, which supports her claim of a head injury. She should have been transported to the hospital to be examined and if the troopers suspected she was DUI, there should have been a blood draw that would have substantiated whether she was DUI or not. In this case they would have obtained a warrant later and made arrangements for someone to pick the suspect up from the hospital, since you won’t have the results right away.”

Thomas also noted that the field sobriety test that was conducted back at the station by McKenzie was irrelevant because of the possible head injury Taitt had suffered. During the trial on the DUI charges, the defense attorney and judge agreed that how the test was administered was incorrect and said the results of the sobriety tests were not valid because of the injuries Taitt suffered in the crash.

After she woke up later that day, Taitt said she was feeling miserable. She had a bad headache and she was vomiting all over the place. She said she was also frequently going to the bathroom. She had a black eye and a broken blood vessel on the left side of her face, that was caused by the airbag. She went to the hospital where documents obtained by jcoydenreports show she was prescribed Ondansetron and Duloxetine, to treat her nausea and anxiety related to the crash.

Taitt’s claims of sexual assault are her most serious claims. Proving them could be even harder. In his narrative report, McKenzie says he took Taitt home shortly after finishing up paperwork on her arrest, which was sometime after 4 a.m. Taitt’s own GPS shows she arrived back at her home around 4:30 a.m. It is 12.2 miles from the M1 facility in Alsip to Taitt’s residence in Homewood. This is the time Taitt is alleging the attack possibly occurred as there is no recorded video or audio of her being in Trooper McKenzie’s squad car.

Like Taitt, all of the charges against Glanz were dismissed, according to Cook County court records. Glanz was also never taken to a hospital for any injuries she may have sustained during her engagement with Ehlers and since she refused the breathalyzer test, there was no evidence she was ever under the influence and operating a vehicle. Her attorney, Shay Allen, said Ehlers actions against his client were egregious, unnecessary and excessive. Allen unsuccessfully sued Ehlers and the ISP but spoke to jcoydenreports about his client’s case and what his personal thoughts are on Trooper Ehlers being involved in another questionable incident with a citizen.

“Doing this kind of work, I find that when an officer has these types of incidents, it’s just the time he was caught that we get to hear about. I think it has happened many other times, so hearing this story about Ms. Taitt doesn’t surprise me,” Allen said. “People have to come forward. The situation with Ms. Glanz could have been handled in so many different ways.”

Allen said the incident with Trooper Ehlers has left emotional scars on his client. He said she no longer trusts police officers and has trouble adjusting to a normal life again.

In the meantime, Taitt is continuing to press forward with her claims. In addition to the federal lawsuit, she is asking for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office to look at opening an investigation into her case. She also would like to see the U.S. Department of Justice look into her claims because she believes her rights as a citizen were violated. She understands that while her case may be hard to prove in court, she hopes that by going public, people will hear her story and perhaps other victims of police misconduct at the hands of Ehlers and/or McKenzie will come forward.

“I don’t believe for a second this was either McKenzie or Ehlers first time doing something like this,” Taitt said. “I think this is something systematic and calculated that they do and I was just their latest victim.”

Chief Public Information Officer Lt. Joseph Hutchins for the Illinois State Police responded via email when asked to comment about Taitt’s allegations and the lawsuit. He sent the following reply:

“The Illinois State Police does not comment on pending litigation,” Hutchins wrote.

Attempts were also made to contact Illinois Troopers Lodge #41, which according to their website, represents over 3,200 troopers in Illinois. There was no response to an email sent to their President Joe Moon.