A police officer from suburban Chicago is being sued by a local woman, who claims that the officer issued her a speeding ticket for $132 that he then used to track her down and ask her for a date. She then says that the least he could do is buy her dinner after charging her such a high amount on the ticket.
The officer is from Stickney and the woman is Evangelina Paredes. Paredes said that Chris Collins violated her privacy by searching through motor vehicle records to find her address. Officer Collins then left Paredes a handwritten note on the windshield of her car outside of her apartment only two days after she received the ticket from Collins.
The lawsuit includes an attached copy of the note from Collins, which was filed in the United States District Court in Chicago last week. The letter opens with a shot at self-deprecating humor, ‘It’s Chris… that ugly bald Stickney cop who gave you that ticket.’
‘I know this may seem crazy and you’re probably right, but truth is I have not stopped thinking about you since,’ the letter says. ‘I don’t expect a girl as attractive as you to… even go for a guy like me, but I’m taking a shot anyways.’
The note then says that Collins would understand completely if Paredes decided not to get in touch with him.
‘But hey,’ the letter says, ‘I did cost you $132 – least I can do is buy you dinner.’
Collins is 27 and he said that he has yet to hire an attorney so he could not comment on the letter or the lawsuit.
Paredes, according to the lawsuit, was pulled over by Officer Collins back on October 22, 2011 in Stickney. Stickney is a village located southwest of Chicago. The note was then found stuck to her vehicle in its parking lot next to the apartment complex where she lives.
‘The letter caused plaintiff to suffer great fear and anxiety,’ the lawsuit states. ‘Plaintiff could not believe that a police officer would use his access to her personal information to find her home and stalk her.’
The lawsuit seeks damages that are not specified and accuses Collins of using, ‘his authority and position as a police officer not to protect the public, but to attempt to manipulate the plaintiff into going out on a date with him.’
The police chief of Stickney’s Police Department, Joseph Kretch, is also named in the lawsuit along with the village of Stickney.
Kretch and Stickney Mayor Daniel O’Reilly did not offer comments regarding the lawsuit or the claim of invasion of privacy against Collins.