Plaintiff:
Ohesha Brinkley
Incident date:
10/24/2010
Location:
6500 S. Western Ave.
Allegations:
Brinkley was waiting for the bus at a stop near West 65th Street and Western Avenue when Officers Matlock and Santiago approached two other people at the stop and asked them to get up against the wall to be searched. Brinkley did not know the individuals and only observed as they were being searched. At first, the officers did not approach, speak or attempt to search Brinkley. But then one of the officers looked at Brinkley and told him to turn around and place his hands on the wall. Brinkley said he had done nothing wrong and asked why they wanted to search him. As the officers approached him, Brinkley ran away. At his trial, he admitted that he was carrying a small amount of marijuana for personal use. A short distance from the bus stop, he surrendered to Matlock, who ordered Brinkley to get down on his knees while keeping his hands up in the air. Brinkley complied. During this time, Officer Valenzuela arrived at the scene. While Brinkley was still on his knees with his hands up in the air, one of the officers tased him in the back with a stun gun. Santiago then sprayed mace on Brinkley, and Valenzuela tased him again. Brinkley then was placed in a police wagon and taken to the police station. At the station, he was charged with unlawful use of a weapon as well as charges related to the marijuana in his possession. Brinkley did not have a weapon. The arresting officers testified that they had to pry Brinkley's hands away from the alleged gun found on him, but they were not able to provide any evidence. He was detained in Cook County Jail for more than eight months pending the gun possession charge and found not guilty on all charges. As a result of his time in jail, Brinkley was evicted from his apartment and lost his job as an asbestos removal technician.