CHICAGO – A Chicago police officer has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and several colleagues, alleging he was racially harassed and retaliated against after intervening to de-escalate an incident involving a pregnant woman.
Chicago police lawsuit
What we know:
According to the filing, the incident happened March 17, when Banks stepped in as officers confronted and bumped into a pregnant woman.
Banks said he attempted to de-escalate the situation, but later that day, he was surrounded inside a police station by several fellow officers. The lawsuit claims those officers shouted racial slurs at him and told him to “go back where you came from.”
Banks, who is Black, said the encounter escalated to the point that he was blocked from leaving the room, effectively being held against his will.
The complaint alleged that the next day, Banks received a racist and threatening image on his department-issued phone. The image included a racist caricature of a Black man with a gun in his mouth.
Banks accused the officers and supervisors of creating a hostile work environment, violating his constitutional rights and leaking an internal police statement he was ordered to write.
The lawsuit named the City of Chicago, multiple officers, a sergeant and a lieutenant as defendants.
“Toxic culture”
What they’re saying:
Banks’ attorney, Blake Horwitz, said the case shows “the toxic culture inside the Chicago Police Department—where an officer who does the right thing becomes the target of racial hostility by his own colleagues.”
What’s next:
The lawsuit seeks damages for lost wages, emotional distress and attorney’s fees. It also calls for reforms within CPD to prevent what it describes as “a culture of racism and retaliation.”
The Source: The information in this report came from The Blake Horwitz Law Firm, Ltd.
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