Plaintiff:
Fionnuala Cook
Incident date:
11/01/2011
Location:
401 S. Clark St.
Allegations:
Siler and Cook were leaving an Occupy Chicago protest in downtown Chicago. Siler was driving her motorized wheelchair down Clark Street, between Jackson Boulevard and Van Buren Avenue, on the road as close to the curb as possible. Cook was on her bicycle, riding alongside Siler and assisting her. Officer Thompson pulled his squad car in front of Siler, cutting her off and trapping her between his vehicle and a parked car. Siler maneuvered further into the street to try to get around the squad car. Officer Thompson yelled at Siler to get back on the sidewalk, claiming it was illegal for her to be on the road, and then sped his squad car forward to block Siler's wheelchair again. Then Officer Thompson got out of his squad car and continued to scream at Siler about the wheelchair and demanded to see her identification. As Siler was reaching for her identification, Officer Thompson grabbed her thigh area, knocking her purse from her arm. Cook reached down to give Siler back her purse, but Officer Thompson slammed her against the metal supports of nearby CTA train tracks. Officer Thompson then handcuffed Cook and forcefully threw her into a squad car. A bystander who saw this and suggested contacting a legal observer was threatened and told to leave the area. Officer Sommerfield was sitting inside the squad car and did nothing to assist Cook. Later, Officer Sommerfield had Siler sign a citation for obstruction of traffic and had Cook sign a citation for disobedience of police orders. The charges against them were later dismissed.