Activists claim man has been wrongly jailed for more than 2 years on gun charges

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Activists rallied on Tuesday in support of a man who they said has been wrongfully incarcerated at Cook County Jail for more than two years.

They gathered outside the Bridgeview Courthouse ahead of a court hearing for 35-year-old Ramon Banks, who is awaiting trial on felony charges of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

In October 2022, police pulled over the SUV that Banks was riding in because of an expired license plate sticker. According to a police report, when officers approached the vehicle, they saw Banks sitting in the front passenger seat and reaching for a gun on the floor directly behind the passenger seat.

Police said Banks ran off, but was arrested a short time later. Police said Banks claimed he kept the gun on him for protection.

But activists accused police of planting the gun, and claimed that body camera footage from Banks' arrest shows officers couldn't have seen a gun in plain view because of the tinted rear windows.

"What we would hear from the state, if they respond, is that this young man fleeded [sic] the scene, and that it was a gun. But they never found a gun on him. The gun was planted inside the vehicle, a vehicle that was not his," said Jasmine Smith, an activist with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Activists also said there were other inconsistencies in the officers' reports.

Chicago police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.