Lawsuit: Saw Needed To Open Tight Handcuffs Of Man Already Choked By Cops
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A federal lawsuit claims a Chicago Police officer choked a man, handcuffed him too tightly and broke the key off, forcing authorities to cut the handcuffs off with an electric saw.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, states that about 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2014, Christopher Jackson and Sir Demetrius Everett were walking west on Illinois Street in Streeterville, heading to the AMC Theatre just east of Fairbanks.
The two men walked across the street from the theatre to the south side of Illinois, near a construction site, to smoke a cigarette. A squad car then pulled up and an officer got out. "After a brief dialogue" with Everett, the officer then handcuffed Clark and put him in the back of the squad car, the suit said.
Two more officers arrived soon after and handcuffed Everett and put him in the back of their squad car, the suit said. Once Everett was in the car, one of the officers hit him, causing him to fall backwards in the car.
The other officer then opened one of the rear doors of the squad car and put Everett in a chokehold, the suit said. At the police station, the officer who initially hit Everett tightened his handcuffs and broke the key off in the lock.
Everett was in the broken handcuffs for several hours and, eventually, the Chicago Fire Department had to use an electric saw to remove them, the suit stated. Everett was then charged with battery and resisting arrest, but the charge was thrown out.
The five-count suit alleges excessive force, false arrest and malicious prosecution. It seeks more than $500,000 in damages.
A spokesman for the city's Law Department said the city has not seen the lawsuit yet and could not comment.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
