On the second anniversary of the brutal shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald by an officer of the Chicago Police Department ( CPD ), a small group of people gathered near the scene of the crime at 4100 S. Pulaski Rd., where McDonald was gunned down by Jason Van Dyke, who now faces charges of first degree murder.
The Oct. 20 meeting followed a larger gathering earlier in the evening at CPD headquarters during which prayers were read, balloons released and, during a press conference, a call was made for the Illinois legislature to pass The Laquan McDonald Act—essentially giving voters the option to recall the mayor and other elected officials thus ensuring greater accountability than exists at present.
There were no incidents of violence reported at the event or even threats toward police officers.
Between 20 and 25 people eventually left CPD headquarters to travel to Pulaski. They marched on the sidewalk, chanting and occasionally spilled out into the street.
Among them was local queer activist Jes Scheinpflug.
She was carrying a sign reading "Stop Killing Black People."
"There were like 35 police officers," she said. "They were pretty pushy and threatening. I think that the police like to antagonize people to rile up the situation. All you have to do is make one little move and it sets up a situation where they can exercise their power."
Scheinpflug stated that the CPD had created a barrier with their bikes. She was standing a few feet away from them.
"There was a 10-minute period when I was standing on the curb just observing," Scheinpflug said. "Behind me, a cop rammed his bike into me multiple times."
"I fell sideways so I couldn't see which [officer] it was," she added. "None of the cops said anything to me. After I realized I was okay, I went up to two officers, who I guess were in command, and I said, 'Did you see what just happened? I know you did. This man hurt me with his bike, he used it as a weapon and you allow him to have a gun.'"
According to Scheinpflug, the two officers "pretended like I wasn't talking."
"I turned around to point towards the bikes, but the officers had all left," she said.
Scheinpflug went to the hospital believing her back had been fractured. She was treated for multiple bruises and contusions.
"It affected me a lot more than I thought," she said. "I spent two days crying."
She filed a complaint with the Independent Police Review Authority ( IPRA ) Oct. 27 but she has not been contacted for an interview about the incident despite confirmation of the filing.
On Nov. 7, Scheinpflug sent 30 copies of an open letter to CPD headquarters along with a handwritten request that it be distributed to the officers who were present on the night of the gathering.
The letter was addressed to "The Cop Who Attacked Me."
"Did you think about using physical force before you even arrived to our vigil?" Scheinplfug wrote. "Was it just a spontaneous decision? Did you run through other options in your head before you hit me and ran away? Or did you just strike me recklessly with no malice aforethought and then, seeing what you'd done and knowing you might get in trouble, did you hide?"
"I want to work together so we can both move beyond this violent and unnecessary incident," she added. "I am willing to work towards forgiveness, but I can't do this alone. I have so much empathy for you. Your job is not easy and you're forced to make difficult decisions every day. Unfortunately, one of your decisions caused me some serious harm. As a taxpayer, a social worker and a fellow human, I'd love an opportunity to speak with you."
On Nov. 15, she received a call from a CPD officer named Hall who finally acknowledged that her letter had been received. They spoke for 10 minutes.
"My interpretation is that the letter will be thrown out because I filed with IPRA," Scheinpflug told Windy City Times. "I told her all I want is an officer who was there to explain to me the rationale for why what happened to me happened and why, when I tried to speak to the commander, he refused to talk to me and physically turned away."
Hall said she could not comment.
"I said I understood and 'I'm sorry for you,'" Scheinpflug added. "I said, 'I almost feel worse for you for having colleagues like this than I do for myself being attacked.'"
Scheinpflug has asked to be compensated by the city for the doctor's bills "not to mention the time I have lost pursuing this redress and the pain and suffering your actions have caused me."
More than for herself though, she wants to see a complete institutional overhaul.
"There's things that our aldermen are voting in and the way that our policing is done," she said. "Unless you have had a negative encounter with the police based on an identity, whether it's based on race or sexual orientation or gender identity, people don't want to admit it exists. If I could only have one thing, it would be for the police to sit down and answer all the questions in my letter."
Windy City Times received no response from the CPD at the time of publication.
