Police Bodycam Video Shows Chicago Officer’s Violent Encounter With Black Woman Walking Her Dog
A Chicago Police oversight agency recently released police bodycam footage that shows what preceded when a white Chicago police officer’s attempt to tackle a Black woman walking her dog in a closed park, ABC News reported.
Nikkita Brown has said she was complying with the officer’s order to exit Lincoln Park near the lakefront on Aug. 28 when the encounter turned violent.
The video, released on Sept. 22, shows the officer identifying himself and showing his badge at Brown’s request. However, the maskless officer disregarded her request to social distance because she feared exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
"Respect your space? I'm about to put handcuffs on you," the officer, identified by Brown’s attorney as Bruce Dyker, responded.
Eventually, their encounter turned physical, with a scuffle that lasted for more than a minute without an arrest, ABC News reported.
According to WFLD, the video, released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), included footage from the officer’s bodycam, as well as third-party cell phone and surveillance video.
On the bodycam video, the officer is seen exiting his squad car and approaching Brown.
"Get out of the park! What do you not understand about that?” he yelled at Brown warning her that she faced going to jail for trespassing in the closed park.
In a heated exchange, Brown told Dyker to back away, and he threatened to handcuff her. The bodycam video ends with her asking the officer for his name and badge number.
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On Sept. 9, Brown told ABC’s Good Morning America that she took out her cell phone to record the encounter and to call for help.
Brown said that she wanted to “at least leave a voicemail and say, 'if you call me in the morning and you don't reach me, I'm in jail, or worse.”
Bystander videos showed Dyker trying to tackle Brown whose small dog tried to defend her.
Meanwhile, surveillance video released by COPA showed Dyker confronting other people. However, no audio was recorded revealing what was said.
Brown’s attorney said racial profiling was involved because Dyker didn’t confront white people who were still in the park in the same way he aggressively treated Brown, calling it a “brutal, unprovoked and unlawful attack,” WFLD said.
According to ABC News, Dyker has 24 allegations of misconduct in his file and has been disciplined three times. COPA is still investigating Dyker’s encounter with Brown and will submit its recommendation to the Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown.