Use of Force

Off-Duty Chicago Cop Allegedly Kneels on 14-Year-Old Boy Outside Starbucks

The officer allegedly accused the kid of stealing his son’s bike.

An off-duty Chicago cop was filmed allegedly kneeling on a 14-year-old boy’s back while accusing him of stealing his son’s bike. The white cop is seen pressing his knee on the teenager as he lies face-down against the pavement outside a Starbucks in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, according to video posted on Facebook by the boy’s mom, Nicole Nieves. The boy’s friends, who appear to be white, are heard pleading with the cop to, “Get off him.” They then physically separate their friend from the officer once he finally lets up. Nieves suggested that her Puerto Rican son may have been targeted because of the color of his skin. “One minute, you’re cooking dinner… the next, you’re getting a call from your 14-year-old son, stumbling over his words through hysterical tears, saying, ‘Mom, please come pick me up,’” Nieves wrote. Chicago Police are now conducting an internal investigation into the incident.