A white Chicago police officer resigned after he was captured on video repeatedly grabbing a Black woman walking her dog in a confrontation her legal professionals referred to as “racial profiling,” the division mentioned Friday.
Officer Bruce Dyker stop whereas the Aug. 28 incident was nonetheless underneath investigation, a division spokesperson mentioned.
The encounter occurred shortly after midnight when Dyker requested Nikkita Brown to depart a seashore that was closed, in accordance with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which reviewed the incident and forwarded its findings to the police division in October.
The company mentioned the officer “forcibly grabbed” Brown after “phrases have been exchanged.”
Body camera video released by Brown’s lawyer shows Brown asking the officer to respect her house as he emerges from his cruiser. “It’s Covid,” she might be heard saying.
It isn’t clear what occurred earlier than the video, however Dyker might be heard responding: “Respect your house? I’m about to place handcuffs on you.”
Brown might be seen backing away from Dyker whereas repeatedly telling him to “again up” and transfer away from her.
“Get out of the park,” he might be heard shouting at one level. “What do you not perceive about that? The park is closed. You are trespassing on metropolis property, and you’ll go to jail when you don’t take your dog and depart.”
The video shows Brown pausing and her cellphone, and the officer seems to seize it earlier than grabbing her arm. Brown might be heard repeatedly screaming and saying, “let go.”
In a witness video launched by her lawyer, the officer seems to restrain Brown for practically a minute earlier than he releases her and she or he walks away.
A lawyer representing Brown after the incident, Keenan Saulter, mentioned the case was an “apparent case of racial profiling” as a result of white pedestrians have been close by however not approached in the identical method.
“He by no means had a motive to method her. He by no means had a motive to assault her, and by no means had a motive to arrest her,” Saulter mentioned. “And the perfect proof of that’s that after he attacked her, he allowed her to stroll away.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot mentioned she was “fairly disturbed” by the video and mentioned: “I believe this woman deserves to have solutions as to what occurred, as do members of the general public.”
Dyker was positioned on administrative depart, Police Superintendent David Brown instructed reporters in August. It wasn’t clear if the officer was dealing with disciplinary measures earlier than his resignation.
He could not be reached for remark.
The high official in Chicago’s chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, John Catanzara, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. But he told the Associated Press that “Bruce simply had sufficient of the nonsense and scrutiny for doing his job.”
Lawyers for Brown didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Antonio Planas contributed.
