CHICAGO, March 21 (UPI) -- A suburban Chicago woman, cleared of endangering her young daughter by leaving her alone in a parked car, has sued for false arrest and malicious prosecution.
Ellen "Treffly" Coyne of Tinley Park, Ill., had been charged after a Dec. 8 incident in which she and her three daughters had gone into a Wal-Mart store in suburban Crestwood to deposit money in a Salvation Army kettle. Phoebe, 2, was left asleep in the locked car a few yards away when the others went to the bellringer with a camera. A store employee saw the sleeping toddler and called police.
Charges of misdemeanor child endangerment and obstruction of justice charges were dropped last week for lack of evidence, the Chicago Tribune said.
On Thursday, Coyne sued the Village of Crestwood and the police, saying officers endangered her children when they handcuffed her and left two of the girls unattended at the Wal-Mart.
