Police body camera footage appears to contradict parts of a television news report in which a Chicago man claimed CPD officers beat and wrongly arrested him while he was trying to rescue his younger brother from a Fourth of July “teen takeover.”
Quotangelo Temple, 19, was featured by Fox Chicago four days after his arrest in the 1200 block of South Fairfield Avenue. The station’s story, headlined “Chicago football player alleges police beat him while rescuing younger brother during teen takeover,” centered on Temple’s claim that he went to the gathering only to retrieve his 16-year-old brother.
“I was just trying to get my little brother out of there,” Temple told Fox Chicago. He denied striking any officer and said he wished police had “approached me differently.”
“The disregard of what they had going on, how they was frustrated with the kids and all that stuff, that don’t mean just take that anger out on me,” Temple said.
“If my brother needed me again,” he added, “I’d do it all over.”
Fox Chicago reported that video it obtained “appears to show at least six Chicago police officers surrounding a man in a white T-shirt whom Temple identifies as himself.” The station also showed what it described as the same man, dressed in a white T-shirt, light-colored shorts, and white shoes, being escorted down the street in handcuffs.
After reviewing Fox Chicago’s report, CWB Chicago filed a public records request seeking all Chicago Police Department body-worn camera footage related to Temple’s arrest and the criminal charges filed against him. CPD released one body camera recording last week.
In that footage, the man CPD identifies as Temple is not wearing the clothing shown in Fox Chicago’s report. Instead, he is wearing a black T-shirt with a white and red design, jean shorts, and red athletic shoes. Temple’s mugshot from July 4th also shows him wearing a black T-shirt.
As the CPD clip begins, the man police identified as Temple walks quickly around the back of a parked SUV and advances briskly toward a group of officers. An officer almost immediately pushes him back, telling him to “back up, back up,” and a physical struggle begins.
Nearby, other officers are seen arresting a second person, who CPD said was a 16-year-old boy charged with reckless conduct. That person is wearing a white T-shirt, light-colored shorts and white gym shoes, clothing consistent with what Fox Chicago’s footage showed on the man Temple identified as himself. No details are available about the 16-year-old, including his name, because he is charged as a juvenile.
A written CPD report states that as officers worked to take the 16-year-old into custody, Temple came running toward them. Officers gave him multiple verbal commands to back away, the report says, but Temple kept moving forward. An officer then shoved Temple to redirect him, according to the report, and Temple grabbed the officer’s vest and pushed him, causing the officer to briefly lose his balance. The officer responded by punching Temple twice in the face “to gain compliance,” the report states, adding that Temple threw punches back, all of which missed, before officers took him into custody.
Per the report, Temple suffered a laceration on the left side of his head and a swollen eye. He was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was treated and released. He is charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
