Cook County Board Review Commissioner Samantha Steele, 45, was reportedly arrested by the Chicago Police Department on November 10th for DUI.
According to WGNTV, Samantha Steele was in the collision that occurred in the 5000 block near Ashland and Winnemac avenues in Chicago's Ravenswood area.
The footage through body-worn cameras from the incident recently obtained by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times show that Samantha Steele continuously failed to comply with the officers on duty and refused to hand over her driver's license and proof of insurance, despite repeated requests.
What exactly did Samantha Steele do?
The arrest report reveals that when officers arrived at the scene, they discovered two wrecked vehicles and found Samantha Steele walking on the divider. She told police that she had been driving south on Ashland Avenue when she collided with another car.
When the officers arrived on the scene, they requested Steele to get into her car and then asked her to show them her driver's license and proof of insurance. Instead of handing over the documents, she immediately started to make a call and asked the police to speak to her 'attorney'.
When one of the officers asked Samantha Steele how much she had had to drink, she responded with:
"I want my lawyer, and I'm not talking to you."
Even after the officers repeatedly requested she hand over her driver's license, Samantha Steele only did so after her lawyer (who was on the phone with her) asked her to.
As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, according to the police report, Samantha Steele, initially declined to take a field sobriety test but later consented. However, she then claimed to have injured her head in the crash and requested an ambulance for treatment. Police reports indicate she was handcuffed once more and transported to the hospital in an ambulance.
Following her hospital visit, Steele was taken to the Lincoln police district in Chicago. As an officer began reading her a Warning to Motorist, she allegedly interrupted with an inappropriate remark, asking:
"Is your p**** that small?"
Who is Samantha Steele?
A first-term Democratic commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review (BOR), Samantha Steele is responsible for carrying out the essential functions of the board, ensuring that property tax assessments in Cook County are fair and just.
According to her Facebook page bio, she has studied at the International Association of Assessing Officers and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Steele also attended Purdue University. According to her bio, while she is originally from Chicago, she now lives in Evanston, Illinois.
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According to The New York Post, earlier this year, an aide to Steele filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against her and her chief of staff, claiming he was wrongfully terminated in the spring. When asked about Samantha Steele's arrest, The Board of Review has refused to comment at the time of writing this article.
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