Deputies Accused of Taking Perverted Photos of Dead Body

Five years ago, University of Illinois student Jessica Mejia was killed after her intoxicated ex-boyfriend, Nicholas Sord, drove his SUV into a telephone pole. However, if it weren’t for what happened next, most of us would have never heard this story. When officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene, they moved her body from the wreck, removed most her clothes, and took pictures of her lifeless body. While the Sheriff’s department maintains that this is standard operating procedure for documenting a crime scene, Mejia’s family feels otherwise. They’re now suing the Sheriff’s department.

The family is basically accusing them of taking perverted photos of their daughter’s body, and that by removing her clothes at the scene, they contributed to several unfortunate rumors involving the accident. After emergency responders saw her naked body, news spread that she was straddling Sord as he drove, causing the crash. They’re also upset that the police failed to conceal her body to bystanders. The lawsuit claims the deputies “failed to treat decedent with the dignity and the respect due her by removing her clothes, by photographing her nude body in various positions none of which were required by protocol, and by allowing passersby and other responders to view her naked person.”

If anyone reading this has law enforcement experience, feel free to leave a comment. I think we’d all like to know if the actions of these deputies are truly standard operating procedure. Otherwise, this story is unbelievably creepy.