A Black woman said she was walking out of a closed park in Chicago, adhering to police instructions, when a White police officer asttempted to tackle here, allegedly unprovoked, reports ABC News.
On Aug. 28, Nikkita Brown said the officer drove up to her as she was walking her dog in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and told her to leave the area immediately.
Brown agreed, but the officer insisted on driving behind her as she walked out of the park, and eventually got out of his vehicle to follow her on foot, she told ABC News in an exclusive interview airing Thursday on “Good Morning America.”
Brown said she consistently told him, “I am leaving” and “I am walking away,” as she actively walked toward the exit.
The officer got out of his car and told her, “You can go to jail,” according to a video taken by Brown who recorded part of the encounter. Brown said he also allegedly told her she would never see her dog again.
Brown said she took her cell phone out to record the altercation and call for help.
“Even if somebody didn’t answer,” she said, she wanted to “at least leave a voicemail and say, ‘if you call me in the morning and you don’t reach me, I’m in jail, or worse.’”
The unmasked officer continued to approach Brown, ignoring her request to stay 6 feet away, videos show.
In one clip, the officer can be heard saying, “I don’t need a mask on, I’m outside,” shortly before attempting to tackle Brown, appearing to restrain her by kicking her legs and knocking her phone out of her hands.
After a 2-minute-long physical altercation during which Brown remained on her feet and screamed for help, Brown and the officer separated and both left the scene without the officer making an arrest.
“I knew if he got me on the floor, I would be dead,” Brown told ABC News.
According to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), the group inquiring into the incident, the investigation is ongoing.
