Current:Home > MyPolice board votes to fire Chicago officer accused of dragging woman by the hair during 2020 unrest -VisionFunds
Police board votes to fire Chicago officer accused of dragging woman by the hair during 2020 unrest
View
Date:2025-04-18 21:51:50
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Police Board voted to fire an officer accused of dragging a Black woman out of a car by her hair during unrest at a mall in 2020.
The board voted unanimously Thursday to fire Officer David Laskus, finding he used excessive force and lied to investigators about the incident, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Mia Wright was a passenger in a car that arrived at the Brickyard Mall on May 31, 2020, during a weekend of protests and unrest following the death of George Floyd. Floyd was a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
A federal lawsuit that Wright and four relatives filed states that they drove to the mall to go shopping and didn’t realize it was closed due to the unrest. The lawsuit alleged that officers surrounded their car, broke the windows with their batons and pulled Wright out by her hair. Wright said she was left blind in one eye by flying glass caused by officers breaking the windows. Wright was 25 years old at the time.
Officers said they thought some members of Wright’s group were trying to break into a store at the mall to steal goods, the city’s attorney has said. The City Council in March 2022 approved a $1.675 million settlement with Wright and the four others with her that day.
Laskus was not criminally charged, but the police board noted that Laskus denied he pulled Wright by her hair when he spoke to investigators despite video evidence to the contrary.
Laskus can appeal his firing in Cook County Circuit Court.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Climate change is hastening the demise of Pacific Northwest forests
- New York judge lifts gag order that barred Donald Trump from maligning court staff in fraud trial
- 81 arrested as APEC summit protest shuts down the Bay Bridge in San Francisco
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Kevin Costner, 'Yellowstone' star, partners with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters on new blend
- Missouri’s voter ID law is back in court. Here’s a look at what it does
- Second arrest made in Halloween weekend shooting in Tampa that killed 2, injured 16 others
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Week 12 college football predictions: Picks for Oregon State-Washington, every Top 25 game
Ranking
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- AP PHOTOS: The faces of pastoralists in Senegal, where connection to animals is key
- 'A long year back': A brutal dog attack took her leg but not the life she loves
- Climate change in Texas science textbooks causes divisions on state’s education board
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- How Maren Morris Has Been Privately Supporting Kyle Richards Amid Mauricio Umansky Separation
- MLB cancels 2025 Paris games after failing to find promoter, AP sources say
- California family sues sheriff’s office after deputy kidnapped girl, killed her mother, grandparents
Recommendation
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Violent protests break out ahead of Bulgaria-Hungary soccer qualifier
You Only Have 72 Hours to Shop Kate Spade’s Epic 70% Off Deals
Cutting a teaspoon of salt is comparable to taking blood pressure medication
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
Jimmy Kimmel returning to host the Oscars for 4th time at 96th Academy Awards
Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards' Daughter Sami Gets a Boob Job One Year After Launching OnlyFans Career
Powerball winning numbers for Wednesday drawing: Jackpot rises to $280 million