Plaintiff:
Willie Houston
Incident date:
11/23/2008
Location:
7504 S. Colfax Ave.
Allegations:
Houston left his home around 9 p.m. and walked to a neighborhood store to buy some snacks. As he approached the store, an unmarked police car pulled up and Officer Derouin got out, ordering Houston to stop. Houston stopped and asked Derouin why he was being stopped. Derouin told Houston to get on the ground. He grabbed Houston's arm, pushed him facedown on the pavement and handcuffed him. Officer Plebanski got out of the car, knelt next to Houston, grabbed him by the neck and said, “Next time we tell you to get down on the ground, you get on the ground, nigger.” Then Plebanski kneed Houston several times in his left side. Houston began crying, and Derouin said, “Shut the f**k up.” The officers pulled him up, and Plebanski began patting down Houston. They put Houston in the car and took him to a police station, where he was falsely charged with possession of a controlled substance. Houston was doubled over in pain from the officers' beating, and was taken to a hospital, where a nurse told him his ribs were broken. About a month later the charge against Houston was dismissed.