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A physical encounter between a Chicago police officer and a black woman walking a dog captured on several videos early Saturday sparked an independent investigation, criticism from the mayor and allegations of racial profiling by the woman’s attorney.
The physical interaction between the officer – who was not appointed by police – and Nikkita Brown occurred at 12:12 am in Lincoln Park, according to Brown’s attorney Keenan J. Saulter. The encounter sparked an investigation by the city’s Police Civil Accountability Office and criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said she was “quite disturbed by what I saw.”
Saulter’s law firm has released three videos, one toured by Brown as she meets the officer and two more tours by passers-by. Witness videos appear to show the officer and Brown in a physical altercation after the officer confronted Brown because she was walking her dog after the park closed, Saulter said.
NBC News does not know what preceded or followed the footage of the three recordings.
Chicago Police said that since the woman had not been arrested, there was no arrest report detailing what happened prior to the encounter.
A statement from Saulter’s law firm said Brown was “violently attacked” in an “obvious case of racial profiling” because white pedestrians were in sight of the officer but were not approached like Brown.
“He never had a reason to approach her. He never had a reason to attack him and never had a reason to stop him, ”Saulter said Tuesday afternoon. “And the best proof of that is that after attacking her, he allowed her to walk away.”
After Brown first spoke to the officer, she told him she was leaving the park, Saulter said.
The statement from her law firm said the officer physically grabbed hold of Brown and snatched her cell phone from her hands and was “knocked out of her shoes”.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown “ordered on Monday that the officer involved in an incident with a woman walking her dog along a lakeside beach be assigned to administrative duties while awaiting the result of the ongoing investigation by the Police Civil Liability Bureau, ”Chicago Police said. in a press release Tuesday.
NBC Chicago reported that Brown asked the public to be patient on Monday.
“I just want to ask the public to allow COPA to complete this investigation, and allow this process to find out what happened, to get to the bottom of it before we can then take the next steps in my. point of view, from the point of view of COPA. “
Police declined to answer additional questions such as the officer’s name and whether or not his assignment on administrative leave is paid.
Among the videos posted by Saulter, there are 22 seconds shot by Brown on his cell phone. It shows the officer standing outside and next to an SUV, and he says to the woman, “Yeah, I’m going to turn on my camera, make it an official incident.”
The officer approaches the woman who tells him: “Respect my space, it’s Covid. “
The unmasked officer told him, “I’m about to handcuff you. Approaching he said, “I don’t need a mask, I’m outside.
A second video lasts one minute. He is shot by a spectator from a distance. It appears to show two people in a physical struggle and a moving dog.
A third video lasts 2 minutes 17 seconds. It was shot from a third point of view and at a closer distance than the second video.
The video shows a woman walking away from the officer as a small dog walks beside her on a leash. The words exchanged between the policeman and the woman are not audible.
In the third video, at one point, the officer grabs everything the woman is holding, which appears to be a cell phone, and the woman and the officer have a physical altercation that lasts for over a minute.
As the officer attempts to overpower the woman, she repeatedly yells and her dog repeatedly jumps onto the officer’s right leg.
The officer finally appears to let the woman go and she and the officer walk in opposite directions.
NBC Chicago reported that Mayor Lightfoot responded to a question about the incident on Monday.
“I was quite disturbed by what I saw. It appeared that the woman was following the officer’s instructions and leaving the beach, ”the outlet reported. “What I would like to stress is that this is a fairly simple question. … This concerns what we saw on the video. But I want to make sure that COPA puts this at the top of the priority list and that it gets done. I think this woman deserves to have answers about what happened, as do members of the public. “
COPA said in a statement Monday that it had obtained images from the officer’s body camera and was looking for additional witnesses.
“We are committed to conducting a fair, timely and objective investigation to determine whether the actions of the subject officer are in accordance with department policy and training,” the statement said. “We have a responsibility to investigate allegations of police misconduct and determine whether they are well founded on the basis of the facts and evidence of each case. If violations have occurred, COPA will hold the officer accountable.
Saulter said that later on Saturday Nikkita Brown spoke with a Chicago police sergeant who took a report “while still hysterical and traumatized.” Saulter said Brown was not ready to be interviewed by reporters on Tuesday.
“What she wants and is entitled to is the responsibility of the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department to ensure that the situation is properly investigated and that this officer is disciplined.” , Saulter said. He added that Brown thinks “this officer should be fired”.
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