Editor’s note: Subsequent to publication, Chicago police announced that felony charges were filed against a fourth person. Shaundric Mann, 24, of south suburban Burnham, is charged with two felony counts of resisting police and misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to a CPD media release.
“Mann broke through a line of police officers after he was ordered to stay back and struck a uniformed officer in the face with a bullhorn in an attempt to defeat arrest,” the police statement said. Another cop injured his wrist while trying to detain Mann, according to CPD.
On Monday, Judge John Lyke said Mann would be released from jail upon posting of a $500 deposit bond.
Prosecutors have filed felony charges against three adults in connection with an uprising that brought a violent end to a previously-peaceful demonstration in the Loop on Saturday evening.
The two-hour clash squared police off against organized cells that “came for a fight” after embedding themselves within protesters, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on a Sunday morning news program.
Police arrested 24 people, and 17 cops were injured during the melee, CPD Supt. David Brown said Saturday. Neither police nor fire officials released any information about how many non-police injuries were recorded.
On Sunday morning, Chicago police released surveillance video that the department says shows the initial confrontation and the tactics that were used by the embedded cells.
Skateboard attack
As the violent outburst began Saturday evening, a man was seen repeatedly striking a uniformed police officer with a skateboard near the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive around 6 p.m.
CPD today said that man is 25-year-old Jeremey Johnson of Lakeview. Johnson was arrested about 90 minutes after the attack during another clash on the 200 block of South LaSalle.
Prosecutors charged Johnson with felony aggravated battery of a police officer. Judge John Lyke said Johnson can go home by posting a $2,000 deposit bond. The judge also ordered Johnson not to possess or ride a skateboard until his case is resolved.
Video of the skateboard attack began circulating widely on social media Saturday night.
Here’s a copy of the video, that was later deleted by the original poster, showing rioters beating on a CPD officer.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 16, 2020
h/t: @CWBChicago pic.twitter.com/JvipmYodZa
Police have been carefully analyzing that video and hundreds of others from city surveillance cameras, social media, and officers’ bodyworn cameras to identify persons of interest.
Among the persons being eyed is a man who appears to spray something into a police officer’s face while the cop is being beaten with a skateboard.
Battery of deputy chief
Elena Chamorro, an 18-year-old DePaul University film student who lives in Lakeview, is charged with aggravated battery of a police officer and mob action in connection with Saturday’s incident.
Prosecutors said Chamorro repeatedly blocked the path and grabbed the arm of CPD Dept. Chief of Operations Randall Darlin as he tried to make his way toward an area where cops were being confronted by a large group. Darlin pushed Chamorro repeatedly and told her to stay away, but she continued the behavior, according to prosecutors. Darlin was not injured.
Chamorro was arrested about 90 minutes after the incident when Darlin saw her again during a clash near Dearborn and Randolph streets, according to court records.
A portion of the incident between Darlin and the woman prosecutors identified as Chamorro was posted to social media Saturday night. Judge David Navarro ordered her to be released if she can post a $500 deposit bond.
White shirt just busted through the crowd shoving people.
— Angry Woman Who Isn’t Funny & Ruins Everything Fun (@dudgedudy) August 15, 2020
Not posting full clip. pic.twitter.com/ngbpjcn6LD
Body camera theft
A 24-year-old Lower West Side woman is charged with felony theft of government property after she allegedly stole a cop’s bodyworn camera when it fell from his vest during one of Saturday’s altercations.
Nicoline Arlet, age 24, grabbed the cop’s camera off the ground, put it in her backpack, and fled, prosecutors said. But other officers saw the whole thing happen via surveillance cameras, and they dispatched a description of the thief to cops on the ground: a White woman wearing all black clothing, a hot pink gas mask, and a jean backpack.
Arlet, who works as a software engineer for a bank, was arrested a few minutes later when cops saw her about five blocks away. The body camera was in her backpack, according to prosecutors. Navarro also ordered Arlet released upon posting of a $500 deposit bond.
Audio archive
Chicago crime tracking site HeyJackass preserved audio from police radio transmissions that were made during the clash.
Among key points on the recording:
- 5:06 — Cops report cell members deploying umbrellas to keep police from seeing preparatory activities as the clash is about to begin
- 5:14 — Police report bottles being thrown. Two minutes later, skateboards and wood are mentioned.
- 5:17 — Police deploy pepper-gas
- 6:33 — A large disturbance breaks out near LaSalle and Monroe