A series of lawsuits against Chicago police commander Glenn Evans doesn’t stop, and another case of police brutality linked to his name has been brought to court. This time he is being sued by a woman named Rita King, who was arrested, threatened and injured after a domestic disturbance complaint.
In April 2011, the police came to King’s door and one officer equipped with a taser arrested her and returned to the police station. During the questioning, King was handcuffed to the table. She refused to be fingerprinted until she was given the reason of her arrest, so the cops called for backup. In came commander Evans who pressed his fist against King’s nose and pushed it for three to five minutes, repeatedly threatening “I’m going to push your nose through your brain”.
This caused King’s face to bleed profusely but instead of providing medical care the cops took her fingerprints and released her. King tried to walk home but lost consciousness a block away from the station. She regained consciousness about half an hour later and called a friend who took her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a facial fracture.
What’s discouraging is the fact that Glenn Evans has got at least five other police brutality lawsuits behind him, all settled before trial. Despite this, he got promoted to commander in August 2012. King complained about officers having a “code of silence” that protects them and stated that “This de facto policy encourages Chicago Police officers to engage in misconduct with impunity and without fear of official consequences.”
Police misconduct hurts everyone including police in terms of lost trust, support and cooperation. However, police can be reformed/improved. But it takes time and persistence. The proper policing of a democracy is best undertaken by men and women who are formally educated, carefully selected, well-trained, controlled in their use of force, effective, honest and truthful in their actions, courteous to every person, led by mature, collaborative leaders, compassionate, and closely in touch with the communities they serve. This requires a breath-taking vision, hiring the right people, and leading them wisely. Improvement can happen and it can be sustained! For more, follow my blog at http://improvingpolice.wordpress.com and take a look at my new book, “Arrested Development: A Veteran Police Chief Sounds Off…”
Police need to be treated as any other citizen. When brutality occurs, they should be at the mercy of a third party investigation as opposed to to their respective departments. When brutality is claimed and found to be true, they should lose their badge and powers of law enforcement. There should be zero tolerance and no second chances when physical misconduct is involved. Moreover, there needs to be police for police. Without any sort of formal enforcement of our existing law enforcement, these horrendous occurrences will continue exponentially. Checks and balances of powers are necessary and need to be implemented. If they are not; the nerds once bullied in high school will continue taking out their grudges by fracturing womens’ faces causing them to sustain substantial blood loss to the point of unconsciousness.