Woman says Livonia PD took nude photos, shared them during shooting investigation

A Livonia woman claims she was photographed nude by police when she was arrested for shooting her boyfriend.

He survived and a jury found her not guilty. But now she's accusing the cops of sharing those nude photos among themselves violating her privacy.

FOX 2 has not seen the pictures in question but Ann Zarras' lawyer say they begin with the 19-year-old fully clothed, then wearing a one-piece undergarment, then  wearing nothing at all.

"He testified at the trial that he directed a female officer to take photographs of her," said Henry Scharg, Zarras' attorney. "And some of them were partially clothed, some of them she was totally disrobed."

And now Ann Zarras, the woman just acquitted for shooting her boyfriend, is pursuing options for legal action against the Livonia Police Department.

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Her lawyer Henry Scharg says the pictures were taken after Zarras was interrogated for shooting Nathan Robertson in June and sent back to booking.

She also claims those pictures were shared with other officers.

"We know that they were disseminated because some officers made comments to her while she was in booking that they had seen the pictures," Scharg said. "And made specific comments about certain types of markings on her body. Not scars, not bruises, but certain types of piercings on her body that was only obvious if they had seen the photographs."

A spokesman for Livonia police says Zarras was only partially nude in the pictures and they were taken to advance the investigation and make note of any bruises.

Although a jury determined the shooting was an accident, police alleged Zarras shot Robertson intentionally.

Scharg says at least two of the pictures showed Zarras with no underclothes on, and a Livonia police officer testified at the trial there was no evidence Zarras had any recent bruises or injuries at the time of the shooting. Something her lawyer says she told investigators prior to the pictures being taken.

"I think her and her family should be compensated for the violation of her civil rights in terms of the fact that these photographs were taken of her that were outrageous," Scharg said. "And violated her civil rights."

Livonia police says it's common for officers to take pictures of people in domestic violence cases, but it's against policy for officers to share investigative photographs.

The Livonia Police Department spokesman did not have a reason to believe the pictures were shared  so for now, there will be no investigation into whether that happened. 

He went on to say the only picture that would've suggested Zarras wasn't wearing any clothes was a picture of her bare back. But he insisted she was not naked, only partially nude.