Aurora police officers did not use excessive force in their handling of a student walkout in protest of ICE in Aurora in February, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
The State’s Attorney’s Office on Monday said it has concluded its review of the incident, finding that Aurora officers acted within the scope of their authority.
On Feb. 9, a large number of students in Aurora walked out of school, joining a string of student actions in the Chicago area in protest of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Three students were charged following the walkouts in Aurora. The interactions between the police department and the students involved drew some criticism on social media and from local officials afterwards, including state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, who called for an investigation into the department’s handling of the students.
“The vast majority of this student demonstration was conducted safely and without incident,” Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said in a news release Monday. “However, that right does not extend to unlawful behavior that creates serious public safety risks.”
Mosser alleged that some participants “chose to push the boundaries of the law by entering roadways, ignoring repeated lawful police orders to return to the sidewalk and in some cases walking directly into oncoming traffic, endangering themselves and others.”
She said that officers have the authority to “issue lawful commands to prevent harm,” which individuals are required to comply with.
“Public demonstrations present unique challenges for law enforcement,” Aurora Police Chief Matt Thomas said in a statement about the State’s Attorney’s Office’s findings on the police department’s Facebook page. “Our officers must balance every individual’s right to peacefully express themselves with the responsibility to protect participants, motorists, bystanders and the broader community.”
Thomas said that the Aurora Police Department “fully cooperated” with the independent review of the incident, and that department officials “recognize the difficult decisions officers are sometimes required to make in dynamic situations.”
The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office’s review included analysis of body-worn camera footage, civilian recordings, police reports and other related evidence, the news release from the office said.
The review ultimately determined that Aurora officers gave “several clear orders” for protesters to return to the sidewalk from the roadway, using verbal orders and the sirens on their squad cars, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Several obeyed the orders, but many did not comply, the release said.
Some protesters also walked into traffic, participated in fights and disturbances and made gang-related gestures while also throwing objects at officers, the State’s Attorney’s Office alleged. Two of these individuals were ultimately detained by an Aurora police sergeant, but tried to flee and were then placed under arrest, which they resisted, officials said. The State’s Attorney’s Office found that the sergeant had the authority to arrest the protesters.
As the sergeant was attempting to take the two students into custody, other officers ran to assist, accidentally knocking into a third individual, who hit a tree and fell, according to the office. The individual then got up and struck the officer in the head, according to the office, resulting in a laceration that required staples to close when the officer was treated at a hospital. That protester was also arrested and resisted arrest, officials said.
The State’s Attorney’s Office said that Aurora police attempted “for a significant amount of time” to secure compliance from those participating, and that the protesters “escalated the situation by walking in the road, disobeying orders to return to the sidewalk and refusing to comply when detained.”
The office’s legal opinion is that the sergeant “made the correct decision” to cite two of the individuals, the news release said, and that no Aurora officer engaged in excessive force or acted outside of their authority.
The State’s Attorney’s Office, in the news release, also pointed to community videos showing an Aurora officer tackling one individual to the ground, stating that the individual had been struggling physically with the sergeant, and that a physical tackle “ is an accepted tool used by members of law enforcement to gain physical submission from individuals that are fighting with officers or resisting arrest.”
The State’s Attorney’s Office said that, in this case, the tackle was not an excessive use of force.
The State’s Attorney’s Office indicated that body camera and squad car camera recordings of the incident will not be released because juvenile court records are confidential and closed to the public.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
