ACTIVISTS, OFFICIALS ALLEGE CPD BRUTALITY IN COLUMBUS CHAOS
Protester loses some teeth after getting punched by cop in encounter caught on video
After an evening of mayhem between Chicago police and protesters who tried to tear down the Grant Park statue of Christopher Columbus, a video surfaced on social media showing an officer punching an 18-year-old activist in the mouth, knocking out some of her teeth.
The violent confrontation that injured Miracle Boyd, an organizer with the group Good Kids Mad City, was one of many dustups that several progressive officials pointed to on Saturday as the latest cases for defunding the city police department.
The video shows an officer hit Boyd in the face with his left arm as she appears to back away.
Boyd had recently graduated from high school and was offered an internship in the office of state Sen. Robert Peters, DChicago.
“She’s someone who fights every day for gun violence prevention, who fights for a safe community,” Peters said a day after the chaos near Roosevelt Road and Columbus Drive. “And what did she face? Abuse.”
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the incident should be investigated and properly handled.
“Ms. Boyd was badly injured by an officer — an inexcusable action for someone sworn to maintain public safety,” Preckwinkle said.
Several journalists also reported being roughed up by officers during the Friday standoff that lasted several hours before police dispersed the crowd.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement there were “several” reports of excessive force by the police, which she called “unacceptable.”
“I have spoken to the director of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, and she has assured me that COPA stands ready to address these complaints and will ensure that each of these is dealt with and investigated,” Lightfoot said. “We will not spare any resources to do so.”
But the mayor also castigated some protesters who she said came with frozen water bottles, rocks, bottles and cans to throw at officers.
“People in the crowd also threw fireworks and other incendiary devices at police, causing injury in several cases,” Lightfoot said. “These violent acts are unacceptable and put everyone at risk.”
Lightfoot said her office is planning “a comprehensive review of our public icons to identify which should change, and where we need new monuments and icons to be erected to ensure the full, robust history of our city is told.”
Police said 12 arrests were made and 18 officers were hurt.
Six elected officials signed a statement condemning what they deemed “Lightfoot’s decision to send the Chicago police to beat, arrest, and terrorize the demonstrators and journalists gathered in Grant Park.”
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) was among those who called for the firing of the officer who hit Boyd.
“Today, we made a commitment here as public officials to take to the City Council a fight like never before,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “For police accountability, to defund police departments so that we can fund the critical services that we need in the city of Chicago.”
Sigcho-Lopez and Peters signed the statement along with Alds. Jeanette Taylor (20th), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and state Rep. Delia Ramirez.
The protest started about 4:30 p.m. Friday near Buckingham Fountain, heading south in the park, where some protesters pulled on ropes attached to the statue. Police tussled with demonstrators until they cleared the scene by about 8:15 p.m., with the statue extensively spray-painted — but still standing.
Late Saturday, a few hundred people gathered near Lightfoot’s Logan Square home to protest how police handled the demonstration in Grant Park the night before.
The group engaged in a tense standoff with officers for several hours, but as of 11 p.m., no arrests had been made, police said.