Plaintiff:
Reginald Edwards
Incident date:
04/11/2012
Location:
31 E. Adams St.
Allegations:
Edwards was sitting in his wheelchair at a store on East Adams Street, having food and a cup of coffee he had purchased from the store. He was recharging his motorized wheelchair, when store personnel called officers to remove him, claiming that Edwards was a homeless man causing a disturbance and that he refused to leave the premises. Officers Stanley and Taylor responded to the call and seized and arrested Edwards, despite learing that he was a paying customer and physically unable to move at the time. The officers struck Edwards as they arrested him, wheeled him onto a CTA bus and escorted him to a police station. In plain view of the bus passengers, the officers handcuffed Edwards. The officers threatened to charge him with a serious crime if he did not wipe the blood from his face and tell their supervisor that nothing had happened to him. When Edwards protested, the officers struck him again and shook him, causing him to fall to the ground and causing him further physical pain. He was later taken to a hospital and treated for his injuries.