A lawsuit alleges the following (courtesy of the Chicago Tribune):
[Matthew] Jackson, a 21-year veteran of the force, became enraged after Nathaniel Taylor, 18, crossed onto his lawn on his way home from school, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday. Jackson beat the boy with his fists and shoved his service revolver into Taylor's mouth, causing multiple lacerations, according to the suit.
Taylor, who has an IQ of 44, was treated at Mount Sinai Hospital and then sent to Cook County Jail on charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, the lawsuit alleged. He spent a week behind bars before being placed on electronic monitoring, an experience that caused severe emotional trauma, according to the suit.Note - Taylor, not Jackson, went to jail as a result of this. Taylor was charged with felonies when Jackson, according to the lawsuit, constructed an elaborate fight scene to justify his use of force.
According to the report, Taylor tried to flee, but Jackson caught up to him and a "struggle ensued," during which Taylor tried to grab Jackson's gun from the holster. As they wrestled for control of the gun, the weapon "made contact with (Taylor's) face and mouth area," the report stated."He went for my gun" and "Stop resisting" are, of course, real things that happen. They - and the word "erratic"- are also used as key phrases to conceal unlawful or merely improper escalation in the use of force. Parsing the differences among justified, unjustified but legal, and illegal, is the big challenge for reformers, since the officers all use the same language in their descriptions of events (as they are trained to do).
Jackson also said he repeatedly yelled, "Chicago police! Stop resisting!" but Taylor continued to fight, according to the report. The officer was treated at a nearby hospital for minor scrapes.
Criminal charges may follow. I'll be following the case as it moves forward.
