Personal Injury Law

Chicago Family Says They Were Victims of Police Brutality on Election Night

An African-American Chicago family has filed an Illinois police brutality lawsuit accusing four unnamed cops of hate crimes, excessive use of force, and battery. The incident allegedly occurred on Election Night, while the rest of the United States was celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the country?s first black president.

According to Christine Ballard and Cornelius Voss, they were cheering the victory of President-Elect Obama while riding in their car with their two daughters and a niece on West Division Street at around 10:30pm when a man in the vehicle next to theirs called them the ?n-word,? said ?white power,? and assaulted them with pepper spray.

Voss says his wife and the girls were screaming and crying because the pepper spray got in their eyes, and he took them to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park for treatment of their injuries. He and Ballard say that they believe the four men riding in the car next to them were Chicago cops because of the vehicle?s license plate.

The family tried filing a complaint with the Austin District police that night. However, they were told that they could not do so because all of the district?s cops were working the streets. They again experienced difficulties when they tried reporting the incident to police on Wednesday. The family finally filed a report with the Independent Police Review Authority.

Ballard and Voss are seeking over $150,000 in damages.

According to the Chicago IPRA, this was not the only allegation they received accusing Chicago cops of using pepper spray on civilians on Election night. There are up to 50 unconfirmed reports of similar incidents in the Austin area last today that allegedly involved police officers.

Police Brutality
Police officers are not allowed to use excessive or unreasonable force on anyone at any time. If you have been harassed, assaulted, or verbally abused by a Chicago cop or any other police officer in the state of Illinois, your civil rights have been violated and you may be entitled to compensation for the harm you have suffered.

Suit: Kids celebrating election pepper-sprayed, taunted by police, November 7, 2008

Family alleges police attack election night, ABC News, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

City of Chicago Independent Police Review Authority

Communities United Against Police Brutality

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on November 10, 2008 (boomark / email).