Man accuses former Robbins police chief of beating him for 10 minutes inside village hall

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The man who has accused former acting Robbins Police Chief Carl Scott of assaulting him said he's still coping with the trauma of the attack inside village hall.

Scott was initially put on unpaid administrative duty following the incident on July 1 inside the village hall. Mayor Darren Bryant later moved to fire Scott, choosing not to wait for the outcome of an investigation by the Cook County Sheriff's Public Integrity Unit. Before the mayor could fire him, Scott resigned.

The man who accused Scott of attacking him recently sat down with CBS News Chicago for an interview.

His followers know him as "Tyrant Terminator Audits" on YouTube, and because of what happened to him, CBS News Chicago is identifying him only as James.

"I didn't know. I just started thinking about all type of stuff like George Floyd. I just started thinking about it, and you know my mind was racing," he said of the attack.

James said he's still coping with the trauma.

It was an exchange James has had countless times, when he films interactions with law enforcement officers and other public employees in government buildings.

The form of activism is called an audit, designed to test whether First Amendment rights are respected.

James said, on July 1, a visit to Robbins Village Hall spiraled out of control when he came face-to-face with Scott.

"He pulled out his personal phone, he started recording me, and I told him that I was gonna get a FOIA for that video that he was making, and I was going to file a complaint," James said.

A FOIA is a Freedom of Information Act request – a form requesting records from a public agency. James said the complaint he was filing was over a previous visit to Robbins Village Hall in March, when he first met Scott.

That encounter was captured on video, as James was told he had to leave, and ended in an arrest, as James was charged with disorderly conduct and breach of peace. Both charges were later dismissed.

His return to Robbins Village Hall on July 1 started out like they all do, with James recording the encounter on cell phone. James said it took a very scary turn when Scott didn't let him leave.

Video of that encounter was recorded on a cell phone that was swiped from James.

"He started to ask me for my personal information, like my name and stuff, and 'Where's your ID?'" James said.

As he was escorted to a back room, Scott smacked James' phone – which was recording everything – out of his hand, James said. It was the last time James saw the device.

"So he grabbed me by the back, slammed me up against the wall in the corner, and they opened up this door to the back, and there was two officers with us – Officer Harding and Sergeant Yates – and he took me in this room and slammed me down on this little metal plate where you sit at, and he told the two officers to cut the cameras off, and then he just started beating me," James said.

James said the attack lasted about 10 minutes as Scott repeatedly punched him in the face and head while the other two officers looked on and did nothing.

James said he feared Scott would kill him.

"Yeah, man, I'll be honest, especially when he asked the officers to get the baton. I thought he was gonna probably beat me to death," he said.

Photos taken after James was released and he was issued a nuisance-related charge appear to show severe bruising and swelling to his face, which he said was accompanied with severe headaches.

"This is a horrible thing to do to a First Amendment advocate. It will not be tolerated, and they will have to pay," said James' attorney, Jed Stone.

Without giving specifics, Mayor Bryant addressed the incident at a recent village meeting, where he announced Scott had been relieved of his duties – before Scott resigned – and hinted that footage might soon be released.

"I want you to all brace with what may happen in the next couple of weeks. Something might be released. Maybe not," Bryant said at the time.

James said the video footage needs to be made public.

"I'm hoping, wishing, and praying that no one else will have to go through something of this nature," he said.

CBS News Chicago has filed multiple requests to obtain all the footage surrounding this incident that resulted in Scott's resignation, including the video James owns and any security footage from inside Village Hall.

A spokesperson for the village said they had no further comment on this case, referring questions to the Cook County Sheriff's office.