Just because the CPD brass tries to silence their officers from commenting to reporters doesn't mean a journalist can't get information about a specific incident. Hell, you supposedly have the CAPS facilitator commenting on this site! Did your reporter try calling the district commander, or someone else more closely involved in the incident/this community?

So nobody has come up with a photo or video of this incident? Some video or photo evidence would certainly help this story as wrangling a kid can *look* a lot more violent than it is. I'm not whose at fault, but I hope the OPS is looking into it. For that matter, I hope the kids realize that "F*** the police" is not the way to win friends and influence people.

The police are not more corrupt than anyone.



That is a hard bar to jump.



Put cameras on top of the heads of the alderbeasts and "Da Mare". That would expose some corruption.

I think that Mayor Daley needs to put more cameras on the streets to monitor policemen rather than to issue red-light tickets. The police are more corrupt than anyone.

Witness/Uptown Resident,



if you were any more full of horse dung and political correctness you would collapse into the sewers.



I doubt you saw anything. I suspect you just don't like what has been said or the changes happening in the neighborhood.



Now I have seen a group of kids who fit the general description fighting and acting the fool in the streets and sidewalks right there and near there on various occasions. They seemed more harmless than dangerous although that can change quickly given the volatility of youth. Of course I am an oversized male so when some idiot kid tries to intimidate me it doesn't work. If I were smaller, older and female I might feel differently. I was once young and dumb too. Some people grow outta dumb. Others obviously don't.



Of course I actually live here. It's just wonderful how some people want to turn an alleged incident of police brutality into a class war.



Why not post some drivel about "indigenous" people and "herstory". One thing I can't figure out is whether tedious bossy lefties are worse than imperial bossy righties.



Oh well.......on with our show.

You all have valid points, but just to let you know:

I saw the whole thing, and it happened as reported.

I'm an uptown resident, and I disagree with the comments of the other uptown residents about those kids. This neighborhood is gentrifying so quickly, and it saddens me that people who come into the neighborhood and push out the residents complain about them. Lets think about their realities and opportunities before generalizing them as hoodlems. I've passed by the Wednesday group mentioned on my way home from school every week for like two years and all they're doing is hanging out. In contrast, I've been repeatedly sexually harassed by the cops in this neighborhood.

This is why I take photos and video.

Geoff,



with one exception I don't see any posts here directly suggesting the cops should beat kids. I do see a whole lotta posts that say crime is a problem in this neighborhood and that you should have better covered the larger issue.



In fairness at another site a whole bunch of people, or one pretending to be a whole bunch of people, applauded the idea of police beating kids. That could be someone who really feels that way or someone who feels exactly the opposite trying to make a point.



I think the larger Uptown crime issue can be dealt with later. You reported on one story. One story that is VERY open to different interpretations and which the facts aren't known and will likely never be known. Your attitude suggests "we found 4 people who described it this way therefore it happened".



There are aspects of your story that don't make sense to me. One commentator mentioned the "5 minute beating" as one example. That is a whole lotta time. It could simply be people using a common phrase "five minutes" to describe the period of time or it could be something else.



People do misinterpret what they see and sometimes they flat out lie about it. Sometimes the people lying are cops, sometimes they are civilians. Sometimes the liars are reporters.



That doesn't mean I automatically believe the cops didn't do it. I don't. It is certainly possible as we have seen recently with some of the more recent incidents involving CPD members.



Besides the time frame I have a hard time believing that a group of cops beat a kid like that out in the open with literally dozens of people walking and driving by. It would make more sense if the story went "cops put kid in car and he ended up in emergency room with broken bones and lacerations".



By the way the Supreme Court has placed limits on "public assembly" and loitering. I also don't think telling a cop to go do something anatomically impossible should be considered "free speech". Actually using profanity is a misdemeanor in this city. Whether it should be is another story. That in no way means I am trying to justify a cop using UNNECESSARY violence. Sometimes violence is necessary.



If you wish to be considered reporters follow up and try to get more information. If the cops stonewall you say so. If they give you a different version print it and try to verify it or disprove it.



Right now you have printed more than nothing and less than something.

Folks, please understand that this article was not intended to address the entire crime and public safety situation in Uptown. Based on your comments, we'll consider doing an article like that in the future.



This article addressed a single incident between the police and a teenager.



I appreciate that crime is a concern in the neighborhood. But there seems to be a sentiment here that the U.S. Constitution goes out the window when someone gets mugged.



What you refer to as loitering also goes by the name 'public assembly,' and every American has a right to do it under the Constitution.



The activities you refer to as mouthing off and disrespecting the police are known in the Constitution as freedom of speech.



Regardless of the crime rate or loitering tendencies in a particular neighborhood, it's illegal and unconstitutional for the cops to beat a noncombative juvenile.



If you believe it should be otherwise, I'd suggest finding another country to live in.

I am the caps facilitator for this beat. The story told here is not what I have heard from other residents. I also heard this was a near riot as irishpirate mentions below. And yes, he is correct, a police officer was injured during the altercation.

One of my close friends was "jumped" at Wilson and Kenmore by some of these "students" a few weeks back... all for a few $$s..we are lucky there were not guns or knives involved and that he lived to tell about it. The same can't be said for the other recent unfortunate inviduals murdered over the past few months. We need MORE police.

Now, I don't believe police are always right or perfect. But, Chi-town Daily News, Shame on you for not reporting on the problems we face in uptown in a manner that will HELP us instead of trying to make it seem like the police are just a bunch of A-holes up here. Do you even understand what we deal with? Gangs, drugs, violence, guns, a corrupt alderman who does nothing for our community... come on... report on something that HELPS us for once! The police are doing their best up here (from what I've seen in my 4 years of living here), but it's hard when your hands are tied and when people like you write sensational articles like this!

I do remember the leader of COURAJ getting sued by a police officer for encouraging youth to issue false reports of police brutality in Uptown. There's a very strong anti police sense among the youth in that neighborhood which is nourished by some enabling adults. This incident may be true, but residents who live here who experience first hand of roving bands of youth in the neighborhood or focus on one adult to beat up and rob are going to be a tad bit suspicious about this story. You really can't blame them.



More work needs to be done by Uplift School to encourage a better relationship with the police, but many of the teachers LOVE promoting victimization instead.

Sheridanparker, Chicago cops are not allowed to speak to reporters without the consent of the department's news affairs office. You'll notice that the fifth paragraph of the article says the department's spokeswoman did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the incident.



The only reason the views of the police department don't appear in the article is because the department refused to provide them.



The department also refused to provide basic information about the incident -- time, date, charges filed -- that the public is entitled to under state and federal law.

OOPS..TYPO ON MY LAST POST...I MEAN US RESIDENTS KNOW IT IS! (NOT TRUE)

GO GET EM POLICE> I LIVE IN UPTOWN AND I'M SICK OF THIS GANG OF THUGS. I CALL BULLSHIT. WHY WASN'T THE COMMANDER OF THE 23RD DISTRICT OR ANY POLICE INTERVIEWED TO GET THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY. SEEMS PRETTY ONE SIDED..AND IN UPTOWN...WHEN SOMETHING "SEEMS" UNBELIEVEABLE LIKE THIS, US RESIDENTS KNOW IT ISN'T!

Gotta say, as soon as I read a description saying they beat him for five mins, I call BS.



Your average street fight last less then 2 full mins, you will have me believe 4 grown police officers beat a teenager for five mins…… Not with out a dead body to show for it.

It MAY have happened purdy dern much as described in your article. It MAY not have. I suspect there is more to this story that we will likely never know.



Did the cops physically take anyone's phone cameras? Did they force people to delete photos? If so were any of those people interviewed?



I personally believe all Police vehicles should be equipped with cameras and some departments now have cameras mounted on police headgear. I think it would make for better policing and somewhat better citizen interaction with cops.



When the cops shoot someone carrying a weapon and the family comes out later and says the deceased was an A student and future Nobel Prize Winner it would be nice to have some video showing what happened. "Oh, lookie our future humanitarian is carrying an AR-15 and pointing at the police." Or the converse could be true.



Without video or photos it is largely he said versus he said and the truth may not be being told by any party. Possibly deliberately or possibly because they only saw a bit of the action.

All good questions, Irish.



Our reporter learned of the event from someone who had witnessed it.



She canvassed the scene well after the incident occurred -- several times over the following days, I believe.



The witnesses were located by the standard WAAAP method. Walking Around and Asking People.



Kidding aside, that's what most good journalism amounts to. We go where news happens and ask people what (if anything) they saw. If it's interesting we write it down. If it seems credible we publish it.

Questions I would ask before I nominate this story for a Pulitzer include the following:



1. Did your intrepid reporter just happen on the scene minutes after it occurred?



2. How did your reporter find 4 people who all essentially gave the same story?



3. Did one person point the reporter to the 4 people and if so how did he happen to know all 4. How did your reporter manage to talk to a dozen people who saw parts of the incident.



4. I could go on and on.



Again until I have more information I would withhold judgement on what happened.

Again

so according to this logic, rude kids standing around deserve to get the stuffing beaten out of them by cops, then those who didn't and decided to document the brutality can get the beat down to! we hate loitering but love brutality! stop giving uptown a bad name residents. uptown needs more loiterers and less cops!

We don't need any more loitering in Uptown. Its time these kids were forced to "hang around" in someone else's neighborhood. Where do you live Geoff? Perhaps they can hang out in front of your building?

Irish, I agree with you on this one. If we talked to four people who used exactly the same language to describe something, I'd smell a rat.



On the other hand, if you've got four people who haven't had the chance to synchronize their stories and they all confirm the same general outline of the event, it seems likely they're telling the truth. That's what our reporter encountered here.

I'm not questioning whether your job is to unite the community......it aint.



Your job is to report what happened.



As for "identical" accounts that is not necessarily a good thing. People often see the same incident slightly differently.



In any case if there is any video of this I hope it turns up. I also hope it shows the cops were just doing their jobs appropriately.



If not then let the truth be know. The District Commander supposedly claimed one cop was injured and some people have described the incident as a near riot.



Where the truth is I dunno.

Uptown, our job is to report the news, not unite (or disunite) the community. While kids may be disrespectful to others, that doesn't mean the police have a right to beat them.



VinceJose, we interviewed four witnesses who substantially corroborated each others' accounts. It seems highly unlikely that four people, interviewed separately, would give identical accounts of what happened. But hey, if you don't believe it then you don't believe it.

Ahhh the good ol' CPD, the largest, best armed and equipped street gang in Chicago. Thy telling one of them your opinion if you don't believe me.

Way to unite an already polorized community! You publish a story - more like hear say - that could, or could not be true. Get your facts first. Better yet, walk around that area and see for yourself how disrespectful those kids are to not only residents, but the police.

Right, VinceJose. These poor police officers need all the help they can get. I forgot their job description included banging kids' heads into poles. I'm sure all those kids just made it up, and then made up the story that the police threatened them to delete the video. I'm actually pretty interested to see the video now. Maybe they can put "allegedly" in the title of the video. "Video shows cop 'allegedly' banging boy's head against a pole."

There really should be an "allegedly" in the title. The whole story is based upon the words of a bunch of kids hanging on the street. Kids who were doing something to warrant someone calling the cops no less. This isn't news.

wow. this is ridiculous.

If you took photo or video of this incident, please e-mail us: geoff (at) chitowndailynews (dot) org.