Man says police in Riverdale, Illinois roughed him up, arrested him without cause
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Riverdale man is suing two members of the south suburb's police department, as well as the village itself, in a civil rights claim that the officers arrested him falsely and used excessive force.
Abraham Carmichael claims one member of the Riverdale Police Department elbowed him in the head, kneed him in the ribs, and punched him in the face during the February arrest—while his colleague, another officer, watched.
The arrest was captured on dashcam video, which Carmichael's attorneys released to CBS News Chicago. In it, officers are seen holding Carmichael on the hood of car and taking him into custody.
Carmichael is heard in the video asking why he was being arrested by Riverdale police officers Hoselton and Woodman.
Carmichael claims he was he was driving to get his car fixed, and was in the alley between School Street and Atlantic Avenue in Riverdale when two officers stopped him and the man with him.
Carmichael's attorneys said police were actually looking for the other man—but took Carmichael into custody without cause or provocation—using excessive force to do so.
In the video, officers can be heard saying, "Put your hands on the hood."
The suit claims Carmichael was not committing a crime at the time of his arrest.
"I thought I was going to lose my life. I was in fear for my life. The guy—a all I asked him was one question. I asked what was going on," Carmichael said. "I guess that was too much of a question for him to answer, and instead of him giving me an answer, he just grabbed me and threw me on the car and started beating on me."
Carmichael is now suing both officers and the Village of Riverdale for excessive force and false arrest, both in violation of his civil rights.
He and his family are demanding a trial by jury. They are also asking for more body camera video to be released.
"The officer who did this to me, he's actually still working the beat. So this makes the interview kind of hard to do, because I feel like I'm putting my life on the line now," Carmichael said at a news conference Friday, "and not only mine, my family as well."
He says is facing a lifetime of pain and suffering because of what happened—starting with knee surgery.
"I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong—because they always think a Black person did something wrong, and I did nothing wrong," Carmichael said. "It was the scariest thing ever in my life."
CBS News Chicago reached out to the Riverdale Police Department to find out if any internal investigation has been launched into the officers involved. The department said it took down CBS News Chicago's message and was forwarding it along to someone for comment, but late Friday, there had been no further response.
The charges against Carmichael for resisting arrest were dropped.
