Plaintiff:
George Roberts
Incident date:
01/01/2015
Location:
1500 E. 85th Pl.
Allegations:
Roberts, a supervising investigator at the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), was driving home around 1:30 a.m. when several police officers stopped him for a minor traffic violation. The officers approached Roberts' car with guns drawn and ordered him to get out. One or more of the officers pushed him to the ground, and one of them said, “Don't make me f**king shoot you.” The officers searched Roberts' pockets and wallets, locating his IPRA ID. Officer Ellison ran back to the police car and turned off its video recording equipment. Roberts was handcuffed and began to plead with the officers to loosen the handcuffs, or use multiple pairs, because they were too tight. The officers ignored Roberts and put him in the back of a squad car, with Officer Adams asking, “What are you going to tell me next, you can't breathe?” Roberts begged, “I'm 6'3”, 315 pounds, these handcuffs are too tight.” One of the officers replied, “That's your fault.” The officers removed Roberts from the car and pushed him to the ground. He lost control of his bowels, and was eventually taken to a police station, where he remained locked up in soiled clothes overnight. Despite repeated requests, Roberts was never allowed to speak with a supervisor or report his injuries. At one point during the night, an unknown officer looked in Roberts' cell, laughed at him and walked away. Roberts was eventually given tickets for multiple minor traffic violations and a charge of driving under the influence. The tickets had a box to indicate whether the incident was recorded on video. The officers did not indicate there were any videos, despite the fact that Roberts' driving was captured on tape before it was turned off. The officers also checked the “No” box on the Alcohol Influence Report that asked if the incident was video recorded. Following a bench trial, Roberts was acquitted of the DUI charge.