The Derrick House lawsuit against Woodridge police was a federal civil rights case filed in January 2025 after Woodridge, Illinois officers stopped House at gunpoint in a mistaken-identity traffic stop the year before. The seven-count complaint sought $500,000 and named five officers along with the Village of Woodridge. Federal court records show the case was terminated on June 24, 2025, though the docket does not publicly state whether it ended in settlement, dismissal, or another resolution.
The Stop That Prompted the Suit
On January 19, 2024, House was driving home from Costco in his gray 2021 Volkswagen Atlas when an unmarked Woodridge squad car cut him off and forced him to stop. Officers were looking for suspects tied to a shooting in Oswego. The suspect vehicle was a black Volkswagen Tiguan with two occupants and Illinois plate CN 78394. House was alone, in a different model and color, with plate CN 49263.
Multiple officers surrounded the car with guns drawn. Bodycam footage captured pistols pointed at House’s head and officers shouting commands his attorneys later called “confusing and contradictory,” including “Hands up, right now!” and “Put the f—ing window down!” at the same time. One officer said, “I’m going to shoot you in the head if you come up with anything other than that.” Another reportedly said, “We are going to end you.” House exited with his hands raised and told them, “I don’t have any weapons, I just came from Costco, dude.”
He was handcuffed, searched, and placed in a squad car. About 78 seconds after the handcuffing, Officer Brett Kielbasa checked the plate against his notes and told the others, “The last four or five don’t match. This is the wrong car.” Officer Daniel Murray initially pushed back, then confirmed the error, swore, and ordered House released. Murray told House directly, “I f—ed this up, okay? I’m going to give you my card. This is on me.” No criminal charges were ever filed against House.
What House Claimed in Court
House filed his complaint on January 17, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case, House v. Murray et al., No. 1:25-cv-00578, was assigned to Judge Franklin U. Valderrama. It named officers Daniel Murray, Zachary Harvey, Brett Kielbasa, Tom Cybulski, and Patrick Prendergast, along with the Village of Woodridge.
The seven counts included false arrest, excessive force, failure to intervene, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and municipal indemnification. House sought $500,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. His attorneys at Ekl, Williams & Provenzale LLC argued the officers had enough information before the stop to know he was not their suspect. Attorney Patrick Provenzale called the incident the product of “racial profiling and poor police work,” saying: “They saw a black man driving a Volkswagen SUV and that was apparently enough. The police can’t behave this way, where they act on partial information when they have it all, and ignore the most important things.”
Court filings described lasting psychological harm. The complaint said House had been living in a “psychological and emotional prison” since the stop, with recurring nightmares and emotional volatility that strained his family relationships, effects his attorneys said were “certain to continue for the rest of Derrick’s life.”
How Woodridge Responded
Jamie Kaczor, the Village’s Communications and Community Engagement Manager, said officers had been responding to a “highly volatile situation involving individuals suspected of possessing firearms, slashing tires, and discharging a weapon.” The Village said the officers acted “in good faith” based on the information available at the time and said it intended to defend the case. The statement added that the Village “deeply regrets the distress caused” to House.
How the Case Ended
Federal court records show the case was terminated on June 24, 2025, roughly five months after it was filed. The docket does not publicly specify whether that termination came through a settlement, a dismissal, or another disposition. The acknowledgment of mistaken identity on the scene, captured on bodycam within seconds of the handcuffing, remained the central undisputed fact of the encounter.
The Named Officers
Daniel Murray, the lead named defendant, has served with the Woodridge Police Department since October 2001 in roles including police officer, detective, patrol sergeant, and tactical unit supervisor. A 2022 departmental annual report listed him as a recipient of a Letter of Recognition for his response to a bomb threat at a daycare facility. He was in plain clothes and a tactical vest during the House stop and was the officer who admitted fault at the scene.
Kielbasa wore the body camera that captured the moment he confirmed the plate mismatch. Harvey was told to remove House from the squad car once the error was recognized. Cybulski and Prendergast were also on scene. No prior complaints or disciplinary records for any of the five officers appeared in the available records.