I have looked into this case for a year now and I have called a talked to a LOT of people involved in this.
This looks like O'Riley's people spell checked the sheriff's report and are putting it out as fact.

***The victim couldn't be identified? ***
Sure once the cops got there Steffey's niece tried to say Steffey was the guilty one.
But if that was the case why wasn't SHE the one that called 911?
Another interesting fact left out is that the BROTHER of Steffey's attacker is the one that called police ON HIS OWN SISTER!
Plus the fact they have everyone else there saying that Steffey was the VICTIM.

***Verbally assaulting the cop?***
Court testimony said that Steffey yelled in the direction of her niece that attacked her, the officer then told her to calm down, and according to ALL witnesses, including the officer, she did. Its what happens NEXT that is disputed.
The cop claims Steffey then started yelling at him, while witnesses claim that the cop started harassing Steffey about her dead sister and "pushing her buttons".

The witnesses claim she was NEVER told she was subject to arrest, and that the officer "exploded in rage" and attacked Steffey.
The officer had a body mic & remote control for the camera that HE COULD HAVE TURNED ON AT ANY TIME to document any of his accusations, but he testified at court that he "didn't feel the need" to turn it on.
But then when she’s in the back of the car & mad at him, he wants everyone to believe she was this way the WHOLE time.

In fact he never turned on his camera until people at the scene yelled to get a video camera of their own, because he was “beating her”. But this was never heard by the jury at her trial, it was only discovered by the grand jury investigation.

***She was highly intoxicated and out of control - even witnesses verified she was in this state.***

The witnesses couldn’t even agree on how intoxicated Steffey was, let alone the out of control accusation. The ONLY ones that said she was “highly” intoxicated were the cops. But then NO breathalyzer was ever done to produce evidence for the cop’s claims.
Steffey herself never denied that she had been drinking, but she also testified that after she was released she went to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a concussion.

Symptoms of a concussion include:
• Passing out.
• Not being able to remember what happened after the injury.
• Acting confused, asking the same question over and over, slurring words, or not being able to concentrate.
• Feeling lightheaded, seeing "stars," having blurry vision, or experiencing ringing in the ears.
• Not being able to stand or walk; or having coordination and balance problems.
• Feeling nauseous or throwing up.


***In the cell, she was asked if she would hurt herself, she said yes.***

For months the answer she was supposed to have given is “now or ever” to the question, she even testified to this at her trial, and it was NEVER disputed by the prosecutor, police, or ANY witnesses.
After the story blew up the sheriff then brought out a HIGHLY edited, enhanced, and out of context video…with audio only.
This video shows that Steffey was SARCASTIC, NOT suicidal. It also gives you an idea of why she was abused by the jail guards, just to punish her for being sarcastic.
I also called and requested an UN-edited copy of this to expose it for the manufactured evidence it is. The sheriff’s dept NOW claims it is medical evidence and they can NOT release it. Except they ALREADY HAVE released their version to the newspapers.

*** So, an emergency response team was called in - those are the men that are in the cell. That is when they began filming everything. Apparnetly, Emergency Response people can be men working w/ women.***

By LAW, men can’t be present during a strip search, body cavity search, or even supposed to be where they can SEE women in the showers, but Swanson’s “policy” ‘SAYS’ its ‘ok’ for men to not only VIEW a forced stripping naked of a woman in a ‘suicide prevention’

, they are allowed to PARTICIPATE and help remove her cloths! HUH? All these laws to keep men away, but Swanson wants us to believe that THIS “policy” he dreamed up is “OK”, because he SAYS so? Does this sound logical and reasonable? (Or moral?)
Also the sheriff is always quick to point out that they have "passed" state regulations. Making people think that the state somehow 'authorized' this treatment of prisoners. Nothing could be further from the truth! There is NO policy of having men strip women. It only states that a 'policy' has to be in place. This is what the state does, look that a policy is in place, NOT what that policy is. But please, don't believe me, just call them, ask for yourself.
Bureau of Adult Detention 614-752-1062 Butch Hunyadi


Also that is NOT when they began filming! The beginning of this video is still “missing”. The woman who shot the video has “no idea why everything wasn’t recorded”.
So the camera was working and THEN, just at the point Steffy says she was attacked it “stopped working”….and THEN, just as Steffy is forced to the bunk to be stripped….it started working again. How many times has this camera done this BEFORE this case? Or after this case?
And WHEN exactly did the beginning of the video go “missing”, because when I called the sheriffs dept at the beginning of May, they claimed that it would be released to Steffeys lawyers during discovery. So you can imagine how surprised I was when the grand jury investigators said it didn’t exist, just a couple months later.


*** According to their definition, a strip search involves a cavity search....that did not take place. Her clothing was removed by Emergency Response team due to procedure.***

Even in the video they DO have the camera swings away from Steffey during a “mat change”, HOW does ANYONE know what happened during that time?? And I haven’t been able to find out from ANYONE what they were doing to her while the camera is off of her.

A strip search involves a VISUAL cavity search, so the question is, did any of the cops look at her bare butt??


*** She was freaking out because she was highly intoxicated.***

Well I guess we should just take their word for this.
Are they freaking kidding?
You mean she wasn’t freaking out because the cops were assaulting her?? This has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

*** I believe it is all being investigated to see if she legally has a case against the cops, but the legal experts were saying she does not.***

What a joke! This case will NEVER go to a trial, but not because she doesn’t have a case, but because no authorities can afford to let it get to a trial.
There’s just TOO many conflicting versions, TOO much evidence "missing", a MONTHS long "investigation" that leaves too many questions, and too many illogical explanations for everything that was done.

And I have many more interesting stories about this case. I could write a book about these thugs at Stark County jail.

Sheriff Tim Swanson
Stark County Sheriff's Office
4500 Atlantic BLVD NE
Canton, Ohio 44705-4374
(330)/430-3800
strkshrf@raex.com

y'all know it is a crime to give police officers false identification right? I am not saying that it was right for them to forcibly strip search this lady, but I am saying that she in fact commited a crime by giving the officers false identification.

Wow. This is our police force?


Are these people still officers? Still employed?

Justice is a joke. I'd be in jail the rest of my life if that had been my family.

**wrong thread

[edit on 13-3-2009 by siFtInG]

Originally posted by whatukno
y'all know it is a crime to give police officers false identification right? I am not saying that it was right for them to forcibly strip search this lady, but I am saying that she in fact commited a crime by giving the officers false identification.

She didn't give the cop the PHOTO ID, with the intent of passing herself off as her dead sister.

Even the cop testified to that at her trial.

I have her court transcripts, and some other information. I have looked into this case for a LONG time.

Her lawsuit has been delayed at least 3 times now. I have been told that her lawyers are in negotiations with the county insurance company. And the last date I have heard about for the trial is in July.

But I guarantee you this will NEVER see a trial, there is NO WAY the cops will let this go to court, or everyone would KNOW this was all a BS arrest and 'suicide prevention'.

Theres just TOO many conflicting versions, TOO much evidence "missing", a MONTHS long "investigation" that leaves too many questions, and too many illogical explanations for everything that was done.

I gotta bump this thread.

I saw the video for the first time yesterday.
I disturbed me to the core. Couldn't even watch it to the end.
Her screams of fear and panic...it just haunts me so bad.

See how many people are involved in this act of de-humanization?
No one thinks that something is wrong.
This is not the time, place or method of full cavity search. This is just to humiliate and destruct a human being.

Can't they hear and see that she is in total dismay?
This must, truly, be what they want to achieve.
Ice-cold, methodically, purposeless. Just for the hell of it.
Why the hell do they film it? To sit and laugh at afterwards?
This is a prime example of sub-human behaviour.

And you wonder why people acted like they did in Abu Ghraib?
Or in Auschwitz?

What kind of inhumane look on life does these people have?
Are they just common criminals; rapists and violators, only that now they are safe from prosecution?

I don't have much more to add, but I needed the ventilation.
This video has haunted me badly and I just had to write it off.
Not that it feels any better.

Does anyone know how this story ended?

They will get what they deserve in the after-life. Be so sure.