BELOIT POLICE REVIEW BACKS OFFICERS' ACTIONS

Beloit - An internal police review of the drug-related arrest of a woman who
was punched in the stomach to force her to open her mouth has determined the
officers' actions were proper, a police official said Thursday.

Last week, Rock County Judge Edwin Dahlberg threw out evidence in the case
against Jeannetta Vance, 41, saying the search was unreasonable and "shocks
the conscience."

After Vance was arrested in March, police thought she had drugs in her
mouth. When she refused to open it, they dug a finger into her neck, used
pepper spray and then punched her several times in the stomach.

She was charged with possession of crack cocaine after her stomach was
pumped at a hospital and cocaine was found.

Beloit police Capt. Sam Lathrop said the officers actions were "within
proper defense, arrest and tactics practices." He declined to comment
further because the case is being reviewed by the state attorney general's
office for a possible appeal of Dahlberg's decision.