Naked Chicago woman who stole squad car, dragged officer had been sexually assaulted: attorney
CHICAGO - A woman is facing charges after allegedly stealing a Chicago police squad car and dragging an officer who found her lying naked on a street Monday in West Garfield Park.
Whitley Temple, 34, arrested Monday morning roughly 10 minutes after police said she fled in a squad car and dragged an officer.
The police officer was responding to a call of shots fired when he found Temple, who was naked, lying on the street around 9 a.m. near Jackson Boulevard and Kostner Avenue, according to officials.
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The officer stopped to find out what she was doing, but Temple got up and charged the officer, assaulting him before driving off in their squad car, CPD Supt. David Brown said.
On one video of the encounter that circulated on social media, the woman appears to enter the car through an unlocked front door. The officer orders her out as he apparently tries to pull her from the driver’s seat. She appears to shift the car into reverse, knocking the officer to the ground with the door and dragging him as she narrowly avoids colliding with another car.
Another video obtained by the Sun-Times shows the woman driving off with the door ajar while the officer, apparently bleeding from the head, was on the ground.
Temple drove the squad car to a gas station, where she struck a vehicle, briefly ran into the station and then took off again, driving the squad car more than 95 mph on the Eisenhower Expressway, Murphy said.
She allegedly weaved in and out of traffic until she got off at Sacramento Boulevard at a high rate of speed, striking several more vehicles as she continued to drive, before she crashed in the 2000 block of West Harrison Street and was arrested after a brief foot chase.
Radio traffic indicated she was admitted to Stroger Hospital for a psychological evaluation. Temple tested positive for benzodiazepine, a type of psychoactive medication, and cannabinoids, which can include marijuana or CBD, prosecutors said early toxicology reports showed.
The officer suffered a laceration to his head and left leg and an abrasion on his left hand, according to the report.
He was hospitalized and released later Monday, police previously reported.
Temple is facing several charges and one citation:
- Aggravated battery of a peace officer
- Resisting or obstructing a peace officer
- Attempted first-degree murder
- Possession of a stolen motor vehicle
- Driving on a suspended license
- Operating an uninsured motor vehicle
Temple, of West Garfield Park, remained hospitalized Wednesday. She was unable to attend a court hearing.
A private defense attorney described Temple as a hardworking mother whose actions were completely out of character, and said he had "reason to believe" she was sexually assaulted prior to the incident.
Defense attorney Javaron Buckley said Temple was sexually assaulted shortly before the incident, which he said explained why she was partially clothed as well as her erratic behavior.
"Ms. Temple is a victim as well," according to Buckley, who said Temple didn’t dispute prosecutors’ allegations.
Buckley didn’t provide specifics about the alleged assault, saying those allegations were "extremely serious" and he didn’t want to say them without verifying them.
Temple is a tax accountant who owns two businesses to support her 6-year-old daughter, the attorney said, and is actively involved in her community.
"Ms. Temple has absolutely no [criminal] background," the attorney said, later adding that "there can be more than one victim in a case."
Prosecutors filed a petition asking Judge Kelly McCarthy to hold Temple without bail, but the judge said she would wait to rule on it until Temple could appear for a hearing.
McCarthy agreed that something else appeared to be going on with the case, but said that setting Temple’s bail at $2 million cash was required to ensure the community’s safety until further hearings could be held.
Before stealing the police vehicle, multiple witnesses saw Temple run outside of her home naked and act "irrational," prosecutors said.
Those witnesses allegedly said they saw Temple take a gun from her bag and fire it at them before driving off in her own car. Surveillance cameras and other witnesses also told investigators that they saw Temple striking cars in her own vehicle, including an AT&T work truck, before she was seen putting on a pair of shorts, prosecutors said.
Temple allegedly told an AT&T worker she had a gun, but no gun was seen in surveillance video from the area, prosecutors said.
Temple's next hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.