Youtube Video of Incident on CTA Bus Spurs Investigation
VIDEO LINK
Officer shown struggling with CTA bus passenger who refused to leave.
By David Heinzmann and Jeremy Gorner
According to the clock on the video, the police officer spent 42 seconds ordering the man off the bus without success. Then he laid hands on him.
The man, who CTA officials said boarded the bus without paying the fare, argued with the officer and refused to leave. Eventually the cop grabbed him by the coat, called for backup, then struggled with him and cursed him until two more officers showed up and hustled him away.
"The individual had not paid the fare, and the bus driver asked that he pay it. He refused," said Sheila Gregory, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Transit Authority. The driver, Gregory said, notified a supervisor, who contacted Chicago police.
It was the sort of altercation that probably happens often. But this time, an activist was sitting in the rear of the bus with a cell phone camera. Spencer Thayer, 29, who runs a "police accountability" Web site, recorded the incident. Soon it was on YouTube, and the Chicago Police Department and the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates allegations of officer misconduct, had opened investigations into the incident. Thayer said he recorded the incident on Friday.
The video prompted debate among viewers about whether the cop stepped over the line.
In the video, the officer boards the bus, is directed to the man by the driver and then taps him on the shoulder and says: "You, let's go. Get off the bus." After the man refused to leave, the officer tried again, saying: "We'll have a little talk. Maybe you can catch the next one."
Still the man refused to leave, slurring his words a bit as he insisted he had paid his fare. Thirty seconds into the encounter, the officer threatened to take him to jail if he didn't move. Then he grabbed him, shook him and shoved him into the window.
The officer's body was partly blocking the view from Thayer's camera, but the cop started to repeat, "You want to fight me?" as they struggled. "Get off this [expletive] bus right now!" he shouted as he knocked the man against the window again.
A little more than a minute into the incident, he called for backup. Seconds later, more officers arrived and dragged the man off the bus.
Thayer said he believed the officer should not have touched the man before backup arrived. But he was reluctant to assign blame either way. His Web site, chicagocopwatch.org, is part of a network aimed at increasing vigilance on police issues.
"It's a nationwide thing with a single-minded goal of raising awareness of police accountability," he said.
dheinzmann@tribune.com
jgorner@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Officer shown struggling with CTA bus passenger who refused to leave.
By David Heinzmann and Jeremy Gorner
According to the clock on the video, the police officer spent 42 seconds ordering the man off the bus without success. Then he laid hands on him.
The man, who CTA officials said boarded the bus without paying the fare, argued with the officer and refused to leave. Eventually the cop grabbed him by the coat, called for backup, then struggled with him and cursed him until two more officers showed up and hustled him away.
"The individual had not paid the fare, and the bus driver asked that he pay it. He refused," said Sheila Gregory, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Transit Authority. The driver, Gregory said, notified a supervisor, who contacted Chicago police.
It was the sort of altercation that probably happens often. But this time, an activist was sitting in the rear of the bus with a cell phone camera. Spencer Thayer, 29, who runs a "police accountability" Web site, recorded the incident. Soon it was on YouTube, and the Chicago Police Department and the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates allegations of officer misconduct, had opened investigations into the incident. Thayer said he recorded the incident on Friday.
The video prompted debate among viewers about whether the cop stepped over the line.
In the video, the officer boards the bus, is directed to the man by the driver and then taps him on the shoulder and says: "You, let's go. Get off the bus." After the man refused to leave, the officer tried again, saying: "We'll have a little talk. Maybe you can catch the next one."
Still the man refused to leave, slurring his words a bit as he insisted he had paid his fare. Thirty seconds into the encounter, the officer threatened to take him to jail if he didn't move. Then he grabbed him, shook him and shoved him into the window.
The officer's body was partly blocking the view from Thayer's camera, but the cop started to repeat, "You want to fight me?" as they struggled. "Get off this [expletive] bus right now!" he shouted as he knocked the man against the window again.
A little more than a minute into the incident, he called for backup. Seconds later, more officers arrived and dragged the man off the bus.
Thayer said he believed the officer should not have touched the man before backup arrived. But he was reluctant to assign blame either way. His Web site, chicagocopwatch.org, is part of a network aimed at increasing vigilance on police issues.
"It's a nationwide thing with a single-minded goal of raising awareness of police accountability," he said.
dheinzmann@tribune.com
jgorner@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
posted by Steve Hemenway at
Friday, February 20, 2009
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