‘Do What We Tell You to Do!: Illinois Cops Threaten to Shoot Black Man After Claiming He ‘Matched the Description’ of a White Man with a Gun
Illinois police received a call about a white man with a gun, so naturally they detained a Black man at gunpoint after spotting him holding a phone in his hand. Now Alexander Gary will receive a $50,000 settlement from the city of Evanston, a city in Cook County that is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The city council approved the settlement Monday night, according to the Evanston Round Table. The Evanston police officers claimed that Gary “matched the description” of the white man because he was a dark coat and jeans but it was 42 degrees out that day so it is likely that many men matched that same description. Alexander Gray, a Black man who was wrongly detained by police in Illinois responding to a call of a white man with a gun will receive a $50,000 settlement. (Photo: Body camera) At least five cops confronted Gary at gunpoint, ordering him to lie down on the ground. Then two cops handcuffed him while a third cop pointed an assault rifle at him at “point-blank range,” according to the lawsuit. He was released after seven minutes after the cops searched his pockets and found no gun. Listed in the lawsuit as defendants were Evanston police officers Kubiak, Kane, Popp, Rosenbaum and Pogorzelski who were accused of violating Gray’s Fourth and 14th Amendment rights by searching him without having a reasonable suspicion he had committed a crime and by using excessive force that left him with injuries. ‘I Have the Right to Ask!’: White Deputy Seen Attacking Black Man Who Fought Back Against Claims That He ‘Matched the Description’ Has Lies Exposed on Bodycam The incident was captured on policy body cameras but the videos have not made public. Atlanta Black Star reached out to Gary’s attorneys, Kenneth and Joel Flaxman, to ask for the video but they have not yet responded. Atlanta Black Star also filed a public records request with the city of Evanston which has not yet been fulfilled. Contradictory Orders The incident took place on March 31, 2021, after Evanston police received the 911 call about a white man with a gun at South Boulevard Beach on Lake Michigan. When police arrived, they spotted Gray standing near the beach and drew their guns, not even holding anything in his hand because he had already finished his call and placed his phone in his pocket. Officer Kubiak was the first too arrive and pulled out his gun and pointed it at Gary yelling contradictory orders, the claim states. “Put your hands up. Get on the ground,” Kubiak yelled. “What do you have in your hands?” But Gary’s hands were empty. Nevertheless, Kubiak continued walking towards him with his gun drawn, ordering Gray to get on the ground which he did, the claim states. Plaintiff was then in fear of his life. Kubiak continued to point his firearm at plaintiff as plaintiff complied with Kubiak’s orders to get on the ground. Kubiak then stated, “Do what we tell you to do and you won’t get hurt” and ordered plaintiff to spread his hands “like Superman.” The other four cops arrived and unholstered their guns, pointing them at Gray as he laid facedown on the ground. Two unnamed cops searched him while Rosenbaum pointed an assault rifle at him at “point-blank range,” the claim states. “Defendant Rosenbaum did not have any lawful basis to point his assault rifle at plaintiff and thereby deprived plaintiff of rights secured by the Fourth Amendment,” claim states. Cops Sought Qualified Immunity The lawsuit filed by Gray in March 2023 accuses the Evanston Police Department of failing to properly train its officer to respect the constitutional rights of citizens. At all relevant times, the City of Evanston has failed to instruct and train its police officers that an anonymous tip that a person is carrying a firearm does not permit a police officer to point a firearm at a person, order that person to lay on the ground, and comply with the police orders under penalty of death while the officers search that person. This failure to train was a moving force of the unconstitutional conduct described above. The cops tried to get the case thrown out arguing to the judge they have qualified immunity that protects them from liability unless they violated a citizen’s “clearly established rights.” On March 7, United States District Judge Steven C. Seeger published an opinion granting qualified immunity over Gray’s accusations of excessive force, claiming the cops acted reasonable when they pointed their weapons at Gray because they were under the impression he was armed. But Seeger denied qualified immunity over Gray’s claims that the cops violated his rights by searching his pockets which they did twice; once while he was on the ground when they found his phone and again after they stood him back up when they found nothing in his pockets. “Here, if the officers felt a hard lump or object in Gray’s pocket during the protective pat-down, they may have had a reasonable suspicion to believe that object was a handgun,” Seeger wrote in his opinion. “And with reasonable suspicion of a weapon, the officers would be free to search that pocket.” “But if the officers had determined that Gray was unarmed during the initial pat-down, then Gray enjoyed a clearly established right to be free from any search of his pockets beyond the protective pat-down.” Judge Seeger also acknowledged in his opinion there were other people in the area also wearing dark coats but they did not get threatened at gunpoint. “Later, after the search of Gray, an officer walked south to the beach area,” the judge wrote. “He saw two people on the beach wearing dark coats. But they were in a different spot than the location of the person with the would-be gun.”
