Authorities are investigating after a viral video showed a Chicago police officer allegedly assaulting a Black woman for walking her dog at the city's lakefront.
Attorneys for the woman, Nikkita Brown, say she was "brutally attacked" in "an obvious case of racial profiling," according to a report from WGN Channel 9.
The officer reportedly approached Brown shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, asking her to leave because the North Avenue Beach closes at 11 p.m. However, Brown's attorneys say she saw at least four white people walking on the beach at the same time, in view of the officer.
Brown's mother, Patricia Roberts, shared this video from the incident on Twitter:
"Ms. Brown requested that this Officer ... provide her with six feet of distance as he was unmasked," her attorneys from Saulter Law P.C. wrote in a statement about the incident. "He ignored this request and mocked it, even as the deadly Covid-19 Delta Variant rages throughout our community. ...
"Next as Ms. Brown continues to walk out of the park with her dog and attempts to film this Officer with her cell phone, the Officer then Violently attacks her—for absolutely no reason," the statement says. "He attempts to tackle her, all while groping her body as she screams for help. This unprovoked attack lasts for approximately two minutes, during this time Ms. Brown's phone is knocked from her hands and she is knocked out of her shoes."
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told the Sun Times, for a story published Monday, that he needs more information before deciding whether to discipline the officer. The incident is being investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which reviews allegations of police misconduct.
"I know it's frustrating for the public to wait," Brown said. "I would just ask for the public to allow COPA to complete its investigation. And then allow this process of finding out what happened, getting to the bottom of it, before we then make [disciplinary] next steps, from my perspective."
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote on Twitter that she was "deeply concerned by what is depicted on the lakefront beach in that video."
According to Brown's attorneys, she returned home following the incident and called 911.
"A Sergeant ... came to Ms. Brown's home and took her report, while she was still hysterical and traumatized from this encounter," the attorneys wrote, adding that the sergeant promised to provide her with a copy of the report on Saturday morning — but never did so.
"Ms. Brown is suffering from emotional trauma as a result of this brutal, unprovoked and unlawful attack by this Chicago Police Department Officer," the attorneys wrote, requesting help in identifying the officer so they can make a formal complaint.
Watch more video from the incident via the Sun Times, as well as reports from WGN and Chicago's CBS affiliate, below.