WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office will not pursue perjury charges against an ex-Woodstock police officer who is being sued for allegedly performing an illegally prolonged traffic stop and falsely testifying to a grand jury.

Officer Eric Schmidtke resigned from his position in November after a federal lawsuit was filed against him, K-9 Officer Sharon Freund and the city of Woodstock.

The lawsuit claims Schmidtke wrote a false police report and falsely testified about the traffic stop of Woodstock man Philip M. Williams. Schmidtke pulled over Williams on Aug. 28 for having an expired license plate sticker. Schmidtke noted in his police report that he “detected a hint of cannabis emitting from inside the motor vehicle” and called for a K-9 unit.

Filed by civil rights attorneys Meyer & Kiss LLC, the lawsuit said that Williams did not give permission for Schmidtke to search his car, but alleged that he was told he was unable to leave despite a lack of probable cause or legal justification to keep him detained.

Freund arrived with her police dog, Blue, several minutes later, and the K-9 detected the presence of drugs in Williams’ vehicle. Police then discovered a duffel bag containing 17 pounds of marijuana in the trunk, according to court documents. A video taken by Schmidtke’s dash cam shows that Schmidtke told Freund he didn’t smell any marijuana during the traffic stop.

Williams was indicted on felony drug charges and cited for driving without valid registration and driving without proof of insurance, but all charges were dismissed by the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office on Oct. 20. Williams’ criminal attorney, Mark Facchini, filed a petition to expunge his client’s arrest record but voluntarily withdrew the petition without prejudice Wednesday in McHenry County Court.

McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said after reviewing all evidence and reports he did not believe they had enough evidence to prove a case against Schmidtke beyond a reasonable doubt.

Kenneally said proving perjury requires more than just showing someone lied under oath. The point in question at the grand jury proceeding where Schmidtke testified was whether the state’s attorney’s office had probable cause to charge Williams with possession of cannabis. The evidence presented was the fact that there was cannabis found in his trunk.

Because Schmidtke’s alleged false statements did not relate to the material issue, despite the fact that it was made under oath, Kenneally said he didn’t not believe they had sufficient evidence to prove perjury.

Williams also alleged in the lawsuit that his constitutional rights were violated. Louis Meyer, Williams’ attorney, has said his client felt profiled and has been pulled over more than once in the McHenry County area. He is seeking unspecified monetary damages.

Meyer said he was not surprised the state’s attorney’s office declined to pursue charges, and their civil case will proceed with or without further criminal proceedings.

“It does send a bad message. At a minimum officers now know you could get the case thrown out, but you won’t be held accountable for it,” Meyer said. “Whether he was charged or not, it doesn’t change how we proceed with this case.”