SALINE CO.—A registered nurse from Saline County was the subject of a Kentucky traffic stop in January that her family is screeching was police abuse.
However, Kentucky State Police indicate that Cynthia “Sam” Justice, 53, of Eldorado, was the one who got abusive and out of control on January 10, and her arrest was the result of her own behavior following refusal to pull over on a speeding violation.
According to Kentucky officials, Justice was clocked speeding 13 miles over the posted limit on Kentucky 425 in Henderson County, this by KSP.
When KSP went to pull Justice over, they allege she didn’t respond quickly or appropriately.
When they finally did get her stopped, they allege they discovered the reason why: She was driving on a ticket and wasn’t in possession of her driver’s license. Some family indicate the license was revoked, some indicate that her license was valid; whatever the case, Justice was cited formally with Operating on a Suspended or Revoked License, Failure to Surrender Revoked License (a Kentucky charge that effectively means she wouldn’t give up the ticket she was driving on), Speeding 13 miles over…and then Assault and Resisting Arrest.
The latter two were what KSP is alleging happened after Justice got out of her car, as ordered, by troopers in order to be brought in on the first two infractions, which are misdemeanors in the state of Kentucky, not just traffic violations. According to Kentucky authorities, Justice struggled after being placed in handcuffs and in so doing, prompted the troopers to use force to get her under control. Then, when that occurred, she was alleged to have gotten rougher with the troopers, ultimately kneeing one of them in the groin (KSP called it “kicking,” family clarified that it was a little more than just that.)
She was taken to the Henderson County Detention Center, where she was booked and held until bond was posted by family for her release.
Family advised via email that they’d been told (by “other people in the Henderson jail as well as Justice’s lawyer) that “Kentucky State Police are known for being violent and they have been in trouble for it.” A person calling herself Mary Lane, via email, reported that the troopers “roughed up” Justice, “giving her a black eye and scratches all over her body BEFORE she kicked the asshole in the groin!!”
Justice’s mugshot, as displayed here, doesn’t show a black eye or scratches.
Lane also indicated that Justice had a valid drivers license and valid insurance on the Ford Mustang she was driving, and that KSP “was going to arrest her for not actually having the license in hand” (driving on a ticket ordinarily negates that charge, but there might be some kind of vast difference between how Illinois and Kentucky perceives such a thing.) Interestingly, Disclosure was unable to locate any citation or charge revoking Justice’s license in Illinois…which doesn’t mean it wasn’t revoked in some other state, such as Kentucky.
Lane also insisted that “many charges are being dropped.”
This may well happen at Justice’s preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for 9 a.m. on January 28.
Justice has run into behavioral trouble in the past in Saline County.
In the distant past (1992), an Aggravated Assault (in a Public Place) charge was pled down to Reckless Conduct, the misdemeanor of which she was convicted and spent 6 months on court supervision.
However, an examination of her license as a Registered Nurse shows a little more recent activity.
According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDPFR), Justice, who’s been a nurse since 1989, has been disciplined numerous times.
These include a 2002 reprimand for demonstrating unprofessional conduct by leaving a nursing care facility during her shift, and a reprimand and fine in late 2011 due to unprofessional conduct based on her failure to properly document the removal and administration of 2 milligrams of Dilaudid to a patient.
Dilaudid is a narcotic-based pain reliever.
What, exactly, Justice did with the Dilaudid was not documented by IDPFR.
More information on the Kentucky case will be made available as it is issued to Disclosure.