City to settle lawsuit filed by woman who accused police of false arrest at Family Dollar store
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman who accused Chicago police of violating her constitutional rights when an officer arrested her in 2020 has agreed to settle her lawsuit against the city.
Julie Campos claimed she was falsely arrested and assaulted by police officer while she was trying to clean up damage at the Family Dollar store where she worked on 79th Street in June 2020, during widespread civil unrest and looting in Chicago.
"This was an out-of-control officer who had no business being on the street," said Joshua Levin, staff attorney for the ACLU and one of Ms. Campos' lawyers. "Officer Taylor had more complaints than 93% of all other CPD officers but had never been adequately disciplined or retrained. The quick and successful settlement in this case shows the City knows the officer's actions were unjustifiable. While we are very pleased that Officer Taylor is no longer at CPD, the City must ensure that all officers are properly trained, and are disciplined and retrained when they do wrong."
Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but the ACLU said she will receive "substantial" monetary damages. Any substantial settlement likely would require approval of the City Council.
According to the ACLU, body camera video shows two Chicago police officers pulled into the store's parking lot as Campos and other employees were cleaning up damage from a burglary, and got into a shouting match with one of Campos' co-workers, using racial epithets, and making vulgar sexual comments about the employee's mother.
Then, while trying to arrest that co-worker, one of the officers grabbed Campos, shoved her, and hit her in the face as she was carrying boxes through the doorway of the store to take them to the dumpster outside, according to the ACLU.
Then, as Campos was recording the officers, police forced her to stop filming, and placed her under arrest, according to the ACLU.
The charges against her were later dropped, and she filed a federal lawsuit against the city. According to the ACLU, the officer who arrested her left the force not long after the incident.
"Ms. Campos could have stood silent about the misconduct she suffered at the hands of Chicago Police. Instead, she brought public attention to their unlawful conduct, and she demanded they be held accountable. This takes courage. Because of her actions, now there is one less police officer patrolling the streets of Chicago who is unfit to wear a badge," said attorney Arturo Hernandez.
