Listening session w/ the judge overseeing consent decree for Chicago Police Department reforms is starting now. People will be telling the judge about experience with CPD in the wake of George Floyd protests. Video won't be archived, only live on YouTube:
You can also get live transcription of the session here: https://www.caseviewnet.com/index.php?sessionCode=PR162E&password=0819DowCART
This too won't be available after the hearing concludes.
This too won't be available after the hearing concludes.
We're gonna hear from all parties' lawyers first (city, Attorney General's office (who sued the city for reforms), @BLMChi lawyers, etc)
Then 45 speakers will have three minutes each.
Tomorrow there won't be any lawyers' presentations and there'll be 50 speakers
Then 45 speakers will have three minutes each.
Tomorrow there won't be any lawyers' presentations and there'll be 50 speakers
Attorney @sheilabedi says the CPD response to protesters has exemplified exactly the kind of police behavior that the protests were about
Ok the speakers are starting now.
Student Djimon Lewis an ISU student also talks about Clumbus statue protest. He came there alone to support BLM and witnessed multiple beatings by CPD
Cailie Kafura of Rising Tide Chicago testifies about watching people being beaten and bloodied by CPD at July 17 Columbus protest. She says people were not allowed to get medical attention.
Mariam Saleh of the Black Lives Coalition of Lake County says "the majority of the individuals I witnessed with bloody faces were Black" at the Columbus statue protest when CPD started beating people
Aimee Shemanski is talking about May 30 protest downtown. "at every step of the way it was CPD tat would instigate the escalation" with protesters. She describes seeing plain clothed man "who seemed to know the officers" drop a smoke bomb "designed to incite panic"
"I almost never saw the police wearing masks...the times I did feel unsafe was when I was around police. I never felt unsafe when I was around protesters." Michael Kaiser-Nyman is testifying about post-George Floyd protests.
Michael Eugenio describing the "gleeful rage and vitriol as [cops] ripped the mask off my friend's face to pepper spray her...I won't forget the callous cheers with which they hit a stranger in the head with a baton and ripped her bike away." He's describing 7/17 Columbus protest
Jeannine Wise testifies about May 30. She said cop told her
"'You wanna be in it? Now you're in it.' He grabbed me by my neck and i was airborne, he dragged me so quickly that my shoe and hat flew off...he dragged me through street through horse poop until my back was scraped up"
"'You wanna be in it? Now you're in it.' He grabbed me by my neck and i was airborne, he dragged me so quickly that my shoe and hat flew off...he dragged me through street through horse poop until my back was scraped up"
Janie Enja talks about July 17, "my 8-year old niece got pepper sprayed. We watched [cops] punching people in the face for no reason. My nieces have had a hard time sleeping...they cry every time they see a cop now." On May 30 "the police were pulling people's masks off."
"In a line of white people [cops] came after the one Black man," says Caroline Scott, describing July 17. "None of the cops were wearing masks...there was no verbal warning from police at all of any of their activity."
Aislinn Pulley testifies about July 17 "I noticed police spraying unknown chemical agents of different colors directly into people's faces." Like others she describes people beaten so badly their shirts turned totally red with blood