Lawsuit Against Lockport Police Officer Settled Out Of Court

LOCKPORT, IL — A lawsuit against a Lockport Police officer has been dismissed and was settled out of court, according to a release from attorneys. Bryan Whately, 30, a Romeoville resident, had filed a lawsuit in 2018 against Officer Gregory Grunder stemming from claims of a false DUI arrest.

Patch reported in 2018 on the lawsuit, when Whately had said he was arrested on false claims of driving under the influence and other traffic violations on Aug. 12, 2016. According to the lawsuit, Grunder had no probable cause to arrest Whately in 2016 and no cause to believe he had committed DUI.

The charge against Whately was dropped by prosecutors in January 2017, but he then sued for damages, according to the lawsuit.

According to the police report from Grunder in the lawsuit, Grunder wrote that Whately smelled of alcohol and seemed to be slurring his speech. He wrote that Whately had trouble getting his driver's license from his wallet. In the police report, Grunder writes that Whately said he had two drinks throughout the day; one at 4 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m. The arrest took place at 12:37 a.m.

Grunder wrote that Whately said he wouldn't perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, according to the police report. Whately eventually said he had approximately five drinks, instead of two, and the last had been prior to leaving the bar. Whately still refused to undergo field sobriety tests and wouldn't provide a breath sample, according to the police report.

Grunder then arrested Whately for DUI.

After Whately was arrested, Grunder submitted in-car camera footage. According to the police report, when Grunder attempted to stop the recorder when he got to the station, an error message displayed. An evidence technician was unable to locate a recording for the traffic stop.

According to the lawsuit, Grunder approached Whately, ordered him to produce ID, interrogated him, removed him from the car and arrested him.

"At the time of [Whately's] arrest Grunder had not observed [Whately] commit a crime, traffic offense or violate any law," the lawsuit states, adding that Grunder did not have "reasonable suspicion" to believe Whately had committed any offense.

The lawsuit has been dismissed, Whately's attorney Anthony Tomkiewicz said.

"All claims that were filed have been settled and resolved and all pending litigation has been dismissed. There will be no further litigation of any matters relating to the interactions that Bryan Whately had with Officer Grunder on Aug. 12, 2016," the release states.

The settlement amount is confidential. According to the lawsuit, Whately was asking for a sum in excess of $50,000.

"We are satisfied with the result and Mr. Whately is pleased," a release states.