Pregnant Chicago woman claims being tased by police caused her miscarriage

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - A pregnant woman allegedly being tased by Chicago police is the latest in a string of complaints against the Independent Police Review Authority for its failure to hold officers accountable for misconduct.

"My client, Elaina Turner, was pregnant at the time she was tased. She had a miscarriage two days after being tased," said attorney Jeffrey Granich.

In her lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, Elaina Turner claims two years ago that officer Patrick Kelly tased her during an argument over the towing of her fiance's van. The 30-year-old Turner was charged with obstruction of justice. She was cleared of all charges, but she says the city should be liable for causing her miscarriage.

"She went to the hospital the next day and then there was bleeding and I believe it was two or three days later," Granich said.

Turner's attorney says within days of the incident, she filed a complaint against Kelly and other officers with IPRA. Now, two years later, he's obtained IPRA's records showing how the case was, or wasn't, investigated.

"We've sort of created our own name for IPRA in this case, and that's the Irrelevant Police Review Authority. They're not doing their job," Granich said.

The case logs show that for almost two years after the complaint, IPRA failed to interview Kelly or take other steps to investigate the case This, despite a track record of complaints against Kelly.

"Officer Kelly, in a 10 year period, amassed over 25 complaints, most of them alleging violence. He was arrested twice by the Chicago Police Department," Granich added.

The only complaint IPRA upheld against Kelly, Granich says, was the case where Kelly resisted his arrest by a female police sergeant.

"IPRA was created because OPS did nothing. We now realize that IPRA is the same game," Granich said.

Earlier this week, the mayor appointed a new director for IPRA. An IPRA spokesman told FOX 32 that the investigation regarding Officer Kelly is still pending, so they won't comment. City attorneys also declined to discuss the lawsuit.

IPRA's new director, Sharon Fairley, has promised that her only agenda is the pursuit of integrity and transparency.