Cops beat Black youth who joined protest

The atmosphere of impunity in the Chicago Police Department that has been reinforced by the release of the whitewash known as the Burge Report has claimed another victim in Cabrini-Green. The cops have decided to pour gasoline on the fire caused by the Aug. 7 shooting of Ellis Woodland, Jr., by the manner in which they carried out the arrest and beating of 17-year-old Maurice Taylor.

After he verbally confronted an officer at a demonstration at the 1160 N. Larrabee police station following the Woodland shoot ing, the cops targeted Taylor. Pictures of Taylor’s confrontation with a smug-looking white cop ran on the front page of the Chicago Defender and the Sun-Times.

Taylor was arrested and taken to the 18th District on Aug. 13 at around 3:00 p.m. Cops grabbed him and threw him up against their car outside a Cabrini-Green CHA building at 365 W. Oak. Taylor’s 16-year-old brother Tyreese witnessed his arrest and initial beating, as did other community residents.

Taylor’s mother Sherry Taylor said, “I got word that they took my son to Lincoln Park Hospital. ... I called Lincoln Park Hospital and they said that a Maurice Taylor had been brought in by police, treated and taken back into custody by police.” LPH refused to give any details about Taylor’s injuries or when he was admitted or discharged. He had not yet been charged with anything when he was brought to the hospital.

The chairperson of the Hip-Hop Congress of Cabrini-Green, Willie “J.R.” Fleming, said the community feared for Taylor’s safety after the photos from the demonstration ran last Aug. 9. Fleming, a witness, said Taylor became angry after being called a “black monkey” by the racist cop. Cops were overheard threatening to “get” Taylor after the demonstration.

Fleming told the Chicago Defender: “Watch, they will have him charged with criminal trespassing. It’s a regular tactic police use up here. First they label you as a gang member, and then wherever you go, they say you’re trespassing.” Sure enough, the Defender was informed by Officer Kristina Schuler that, “Right now there are misdemeanor trespassing charges, and it is under investigation.”

Apparently this “investigation” (probably conducted using the same methods as those described in the Burge Report) alleges that Taylor attacked the cops with a milk crate before his arrest, according to cop spokeswoman Monique Bond, who also claims Taylor received no injuries while in police custody. She attempted to explain away the hospital trip as the result of an asthma attack.

First Defense Legal Aid attorney Diane Aniolaw was able to see Taylor in custody and told his mother that it appeared as if her son had been severely beaten and choked by the cops. Sherry Taylor said: “My son is hurt, and no one will let us see him. My friend went over and tried to see him and told the police that she is his aunt. She said the police told her to get the hell on. I want to see my son, because if he’s hurt, I am going to sue them.” (Chicago Defender, Aug. 14)

Fleming and others in the community are planning on organizing a community fightback. He said: “I’m not about to sit back and watch them take advantage of our people anymore. This is about land, this is about these white people wanting Cabrini-Green back. They are raising war against us. Well, we’re going to raise war back with them through the media and other legal recourse that we have. We’re not going to sit back and just take this anymore. There will be an action.”