PhD Student Sues Police After Being Arrested For Stealing His Own Car
If you’re ever inclined to call the police to report a crime, it should give you pause if you start the conversation with the words, “I don’t know if I’m like racial profiling…” That kind of red flag was ignored by an anonymous 911 caller in 2015 when they reported what they thought was a car theft in Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern University PhD student Lawrence Crosby was arrested by Evanston police in October 2015 for reportedly stealing his own car, despite repeatedly telling them that the car was his and that he had documentation to prove it.
Crosby is now suing the four officers who arrested him, as well as the city of Evanston, and seeking damages in excess of $50,000, according to ABC7.
Crosby’s attorney, Tim Touhy, claims that his client was actually fixing a piece of loose molding on his car when a woman thought he was breaking into it. In the recorded and released 911 call, Crosby can be overheard growing concerned of the woman’s suspicion and need to call the police. When he got in his car and drove away, the woman followed him to give police his location.
The police department has released dashcam footage of the incident, showing Crosby slowly leaving his vehicle and telling the four officers exactly when and where he bought the car.
The Washington Post reports that he was actually on his way to the police station when he was pulled over because he was suspicious of the woman who had been following him since he got into his car. He was stopped two blocks away and pulled into a church driveway.
Soon after, the officers forced him to the ground and hit him with open hands, claiming that he was resisting arrest.
“I’m cooperating. I’m cooperating,” Crosby said.
After it was discovered that Crosby did nothing wrong, he was charged with resisting arrest and disobeying officers. He was acquitted of all charges in Cook County Circuit Court in March 2016.
Crosby’s lawsuit against the Evanston police includes five counts of malicious prosecution, battery and use of force, failure to prevent battery and use of force, vicarious liability and conspiracy.
Evanston PD has defended the officers actions as they were “in compliance with our procedures as it pertains to this type of situation,” said Sgt. Dennis Leaks.
Evanston is only a few miles outside of Chicago, which was recently called out by the Department of Justice for unconstitutional practices and excessive force after a 13-month investigation.
Watch the footage of Crosby’s arrest below.
Photo Courtesy: YouTube
He should also sue that stupid bitch who called the police!
She totally called it when she said “I didn’t mean to racially profile” well you did.
“in compliance with our procedures as it pertains to this type of situation,”
If that’s true, fire the whole lot of them.
Disgusting!! Who do they think they are? and the police department is back them up? No wonder they treat BLACK people this way, it IS ran by an ignorant SOB. I bet if a black guy treated his wife that way, he wouldn’t back it up. HE SHOULD BE FIRED! ALL OF THEM SHOULD BE FIRED AND PUT IN JAIL.LET THE PRISONERS DEAL WITH EM. Bunch of ignorant pricks! This BLUE gang have got away with way to much already!
I got two responses – one from Ann Rainey who said they were looking into the incident with *Mr. Cosby.* I wrote her back and said Evanston PD did not brutalize a comedian and alleged sex crimes perpetrator – they beat up a local Phd student named *Mr. Crosby.*
Here’s the text of an email I sent to most of the players involved in this mess:
May Almighty God bless these words, tender their meaning to their hearts, and grant us the wisdom to know we must love one another.
Link to full video of incident. The relevant police comments occur in the audio section. (MF comment at about the 20 minute mark.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io094bh5SFg&t=149s
To: Chief Richard Eddington:
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Or, in this case, what the Evanston PD does speaks very loudly.
NOTE: The view expressed in this email is my opinion-and only an opinion. Please watch the incident on the video for yourself and make up your own mind..
Let start by saying that I agree that Mr. Crosby should not have exited his vehicle. Having said that, I do not believe he was ever a threat to your officers.
Mr. Crosby looks a bit stunned by the multiple officers with guns drawn shouting repeated commands to “Put your hands up” when they are already raised. By my count, approximately 1.4 seconds elapse between the first contradictory “get on the ground” command and the start of the rush of the police “gang” to attack him.
Why is a gang needed? What was the rush to hurt this citizen?
While the brutal violence towards a citizen of your community and the United States is troubling enough, it’s the after-action comments and movements by the officers present and the PD that is even more troubling.
After Mr. Crosby is tackled, beaten and handcuffed, there’s quite a bit of laughter among the officers which all sounds a lot like a “High five, we kicked his a**” moment. It appears your cops like taking people brutally to the ground a little bit too much. Then one of your sworn officers admits to another officer on tape that, “I said, I didn’t shoot you, motherfucker. You should feel lucky for that.”
What in the world would have caused a police officer to shoot him?
Seriously, so your police department views innocent civilians (citizens) as (expletive deleted) who should be grateful that they weren’t shot during an interaction with officers. Or is it just black American citizens who are (expletive deleted)? Or is it just black American citizens who should be grateful they are just being beaten instead of shot.
The officers on scene then resort to conspiring how to jack this guy up. He did comply with the commands he had time to hear and to which he could respond (hands up). He was not under arrest so how could he be arrested for “resisting arrest.” Your sworn police officers are deeply concerned about covering their own butts (CYA) rather than their actions toward an innocent citizen of the jurisdiction. Their behavior was disgraceful.
So they book a citizen they know to be innocent, have his car towed, create undue hassle, embarrassment and financial consequences for this guy and force him to worry about a court appearance for what is clearly a trumped up set of charges. All to make sure he doesn’t cause problems them. It’s clear to me that those police officers did not care about the well being of a citizen of your city. They gang-jumped him, beat him and then continued the financial and emotional abuse…for what?
“Let’s take him to the station. Do whatever ordinance stuff we need to do with him. Mirandize him. Get a statement from him.” Lovely.
I don’t know which is more ridiculous – your officers brutally assaulting Mr. Crosby on the dashcam video for no apparent reason or them laughing, joking and conspiring on a hot mike.
The fact that the you, the chief of police, did not see fit to comment or make a statement demonstrates to me your lack of leadership ability and your contempt for the citizens your have sworn to protect and serve.
So a Sargent (the head of professional standards, no less) is made to stand in front of the camera and make other comments that are just downright propaganda – laughable. He also states that people getting “proned” (sic) —- “creates a bad perception.” Yeah…and a really bad actual reality! Your cops look like common criminals and gang-member thugs.
(Maybe Mr. Crosby can become part of your game – you’ve already “jumped” him in!)
Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said in an email accompanying release of the video that the city’s Human Services Committee reviewed the video at the group’s meetings last year. Bobkiewicz said he and police Chief Richard Eddington plan to propose police department “procedure changes” at the Feb. 6 council meeting.
So gang-tackling an innocent citizen who is posing no physical threat to your officers, beating that innocent man up with heavy body blows, followed by a coordinated conspiracy on the part of the officers of your police department to simply jack up one of your innocent civilian residents only requires “procedure changes.” Mr. Bobkiewicz and chief Eddington then both agree that the behavior and conspiracy towards Mr. Crosby are fine with them. No discipline. No firings. No accountability for behavior on the street by police officers. The blue wall protects all – right?
It’s obvious to me that you two are both part of the problem.
The hapless Police department spokesman, Sgt. Joseph Dugan said that the use of force by police was justified. Stating, “”He immediately gets out of the car, he puts his hands up, the officers go in and he moves… Dugan said. “So they swarm him, get on him, get him down on the ground.”
Really, if you were gang-rushed by people with guns drawn for no reason while you were standing still with your hands up, wouldn’t you move a bit? Dugan goes on to say the officers delivered knee strikes and open-handed strikes to major muscle groups, as trained. Just pay attention to what is important to your police head of professional standards and your police department – “He was not injured, no bruises, his face was fine.” Whaaatttt?
“His face was fine.” So as long as he was only beaten in other areas of his person, that was a good thing. For whom? The police department? Let’s translate that to plain English. “Hey, we beat the crap out of that (expletive deleted) for no reason, but his face is OK, so it’s all good.” (I wonder how his nuts are doing?)
Except for the fact that your officer didn’t shoot that (expletive deleted), this pretty much demonstrates a lot that is wrong in law enforcement today.
Procedural changes won’t do it. Personnel changes might.
My position has been – and continues to be – that brutal and unnecessary violence against civilians anywhere by police promotes anti-cop feelings everywhere. The fine officers in Dallas who were just doing their job well paid the price for past police brutality in other jurisdictions. The inappropriate actions of your officers in situations like this will probably be paid for in blood by fellow officers somewhere else in the future.. Maybe you all should think about that at the beginning of each watch so more good cops get to go home at end of watch.
A police officer’s job is hard enough. There’s no excuse for officers making it harder for fellow officers around the country and in their own department – or for treating a civilian (an innocent one, no less) as they did.
Sincerely,
Edgar Allen
Executive Director
Justice Watch of America
455 N. Burlington Ave. Suite 309, Lafayette, CO 80026
Citizen’s Advisory Board Member, Taser Foundation (Ret.)
JusticeWatchofAmerica@Gmail.com
Anyone who can watch that video and defend the officers’ actions should not be allowed to work in law enforcement. If that means firing the chief of police, then fire him.
please anyone know the update to the story?
The police lied and filed false charges against the man, as clearly shown in the video. I notice the police chief didn’t address those pesky facts as he tries to exonerate his officers actions as “Well, the guy didn’t get injured”, and “We’re in the right because we followed our own procedures”. I hope he gets his ass sued off.
Have they identified the racist woman who called 911?
Democrat run area, what else can you say. Disgusting