Erik McGregor
A white Chicago police officer has been placed on paid administrative duty following a suspected struggle with a Black woman who was walking her dog out on the lakefront, Associated Press News reports.
Law representatives for the victim who has been identified as Nikkita Brown said she was near the lakefront with her dog at around 12:10 a.m. on Aug. 28 when the officer in question approached her about being in the area after park hours. In the bodycam video of the incident, Brown appears to walk away slowly from the officer before turning around with her phone. Moments later, the officer who has not been identified, grabs for her phone attempting to snatch it away. Brown can be heard yelling in the video “Let go!” as she struggles to break free.
Brown’s attorneys accused the officer of “violently” attacking her “for absolutely no reason,” in what they believe to be an “obvious case of racial profiling.”
“He attempts to tackle her, all while groping her body as she screams for help,” her attorneys revealed in a statement. “This unprovoked attack lasts for approximately two minutes, during this time Ms. Brown’s phone is knocked from her hands and she is knocked out of her shoes.”
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Dave Brown, the Chicago Police Superintendent told the outlet an investigation into the matter officially launched. The Civilian Office Of Police Accountability (COPA) will review the body camera footage and determine whether the officer “should be placed on administrative duty or be relieved of his police power” while the investigation proceeds, the report adds.
“If violations did occur, COPA will hold the officer accountable,” interim chief Andrea Kersten said.
Nikkita Brown’s attorneys say she is suffering “emotional trauma” from the “brutal, unprovoked and unlawful attack.”
