Woman sues Glendale Police after alleged wrongful arrest

GLENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A woman is suing the City of Glendale and several Glendale Police officers.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims Robin Anderson was wrongfully stopped, frisked and arrested.

The incident happened December 20, 2017 outside a US Cellular store in Glendale. 20-year-old Anderson works in education and wanted a seasonal job over winter break.

She says she was sitting in her car before an interview when police hit her car and broke her window.

"They pull to the car, hit her door, got out, jumped around, smashed the window on the other side, pointed their guns. had her get out of the car crawling over glass.

She was scared to death," said Mark Thomsen, Robin Anderson's Attorney with Gingras, Cates & Wachs law firm.

Anderson says she was screaming and crying during the incident, but was only thinking one thing.

"The only thought going through my mind, if you move, they will have a reason to shoot you," said Robin Anderson.

Officers told her they were looking for four black males wanted for robbing cell phone stores in nearby cities. But the lawsuit alleges Anderson and the suspects had nothing in common. They had different car models, different license plate numbers, and Anderson was a woman and alone.

"The only thing in common with these four alleged black men and Robin Anderson is that they're all African American," said Thomsen.

the lawsuit is filed against the two responding officers, the City of Glendale, and 10 anonymous officers. The lawsuit says the "john doe" officers "allowed and participated in the unlawful acts alleged in this complaint. John Does One through Ten also failed to intervene and stop Officer Schieffer, Detective Wall and other officers from engaging in the unlawful action alleged in this complaint."

Glendale police tell CBS 58 they are aware of the lawsuit, but haven't been served.

"At this point, we can confirm that Glendale Police Officers were involved in the incident in question, and that we are taking these allegations very seriously. Since we have not been provided with a copy of the suit and have not had an opportunity to review any of the specific allegations, we do not feel it is prudent to comment on the specifics of the incident itself."

"Before this situation I had no reason to fear or hate police officers. None. But seeing a police officer strike fear in me that I can't even describe... seeing one makes my heart drop, I start to shake, it's like I'm having a panic attack," said Anderson.

Anderson is still dealing with trauma from the incident. The lawsuit says she is still "experiencing unnecessary and physical pain and severe emotional pain, distress, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, property damage, and continues to be damaged."

Anderson's attorney, Mark Thomsen, is also defending Buck's Player Sterling Brown for his arrest in January. Thomsen says both his clients are standing up so police racial profiling doesn't keep happening

"I think it's time in Milwaukee County that we address the constitutional rights of people. This should not be an issue. Robin Anderson and others should not be going into court saying, 'My rights have been violated.' If the officers had treated this professionally - competently - rather than racially based, it wouldn't have happened

Once the City of Glendale and the police department receive the documents they have 21 days to respond.