taser

Lawsuit: Chicago officer threatened 1-year-old would feel Taser

May 18, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) A man claims in a federal lawsuit a Chicago police officer threatened to use a Taser on him last year while he held his 1-year-old son in his arms — and warned him his son would feel the electricity.

They also said police officers slammed the man onto the hood of a vehicle, smashing the baby underneath him. They said the entire incident was caught on video by a security camera, but none of the officers involved had their dash cameras activated to capture it. The claims appear in a lawsuit Cesar Carrizales filed Tuesday along with Theresa Cmiel, the mother of his son, against the city and several police officers, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

A spokesman for the city’s law department had no comment on the lawsuit, saying they hadn’t seen it yet.

The couple said Carrizales was approached by officers in an alleyway Oct. 10 as he approached his garage, and they demanded he put his son down. The boy was barefoot — and the alleyway was filthy — and Carrizales told officers Cmiel would take the child, according to their complaint.

That’s when the couple claims officers “began to violently assault” Carrizales with his son in his arms. They also tried to pry the boy away, and the boy “screamed in a way that Mr. Carrizales and his mother had never heard before,” they said.

The officers allegedly slammed Carrizales into the hood of a vehicle, “pinning and smashing” the boy beneath him. When an officer held an object to Carrizales’ head and threatened the use of a Taser, Carrizales screamed for Cmiel, according to the lawsuit. That’s when she came outside and collected the child, it said.

The lawsuit indicates officers confronted Carrizales because a neighbor had called to complain Carrizales had damaged a fence on the property line and threatened the neighbor.

“Even if true, these allegations amounted to minor misdemeanor charges,” the lawsuit states.

Carrizales was initially charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, but that was eventually dismissed, and he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest, the lawsuit says.

Police to Use Verbal Skills, Tasers

Dec 30, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

By Nick Gale, WLS News

(CHICAGO) Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday afternoon announced changes in police training, including a requirement that every officer responding to service calls be equipped with a Taser.

Speaking from City Hall, Emanuel said the overhaul includes changing how officers respond to incidents and their use of force.

Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante says they looked at 15 other police departments across the country to come up with best practices.

“Our goal is to change the way officers think when they approach a critical incident by establishing time and distance to allow for more prudent thinking and physical space to promote a safer environment,” Escalante said.

He says communication and verbal skills along with talking to the individual’s involved will be part of that training. The department will also put more emphasis on calling in additional personnel who have such negotiation skills.

Under Emanuel’s plan, the taser requirement would see officers equipped and trained by June 1, 2016.

The Chicago Police Department has been under scrutiny since a police dashcam video was released last month showing Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald. The 17-year-old was shot 16 times. The release of that video has prompted protests across the city.

@ 2015 WLS News

Police: Man with Taser robbed female at South Loop CTA station

Jan 28, 2015 |

Police are searching for a man who displayed a Taser before robbing a female of her cellphone at a South Loop CTA stattion last week. | Chicago Police photo

(CHICAGO) Police are searching for a man who robbed a female of her cellphone at a South Loop CTA rail station last Friday after displaying a Taser.

The robbery occurred about 2:40 p.m. at the Roosevelt station as the victim was transferring from the Red Line to the Green Line, according to an alert from police.

The suspect was described as a black man between 20 and 30 years old. He stands 5-foot-7 to 6-feet and weighs between 140 and 175 pounds. He also has a medium complexion, police said.

Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Area Central detectives at (312) 747-8382.