Community Corner

Judge Dismisses Case Against Evanston Cop Who Detained Black Teen

The boy's parents said he was racially profiled by an officer who was looking for a robbery suspect in the area.

A federal judge has dismissed the court case by an Evanston couple who say a police officer racially profiled their 13-year-old honor student son when the officer handcuffed him while searching for a robbery suspect, according to an article in the Evanston Review.

The boy’s parents, Ava and Dale Greenwell, filed suit against the city, saying police stopped their son while he was riding his bike home and handcuffed him in the family’s front yard. He was released after the burglary victim said he wasn’t the suspect.

The judge’s 33-page opinion focused in part on whether the officer had a full description of the suspect at the time — one that the Greenwell’s say made it clear that their son resembled the suspect in no way except for the fact that they were both black — or whether that detailed description came after the boy was detained, according to the Evanston Review.

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The Greenwells have appealed the ruling, the article states.

You can read the full Evanston Review story here.

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