Lawsuit: Evanston police officers participated in attack on Skokie man
March 27, 2014
A Skokie man is alleging Evanston police officers were involved in an attack that left him hospitalized for several days and required surgery to put a metal plate in his head.
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Abdul Elijah Memminger says an Evanston police officer approached him while he was walking March 1 in Skokie, threatened him at gunpoint, chased him and hit him in his head with the butt of a gun. Memminger ran to another part of Skokie, where the police officer caught up with him and again struck him in his head with the butt of the gun, according to the lawsuit.
Memminger claims at least two more Evanston police officers and at least two Skokie police officers arrived in the area, the 8000 block of Kimball Avenue. The police officers kicked and hit Memminger before handcuffing him, the lawsuit says.
Memminger, who was not facing any criminal charges, was taken to the hospital, where the plate was installed in the left side of his head, and he underwent plastic surgery to fix a tear to his right eye, according to the lawsuit. Memminger stayed in the hospital for several days while being treated for what the suit calls “serious and potentially life threatening injuries.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for seven counts including excessive force, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The police officers, the city of Evanston and the village of Skokie are listed as defendants, though the officers are not identified.
The lawsuit does not address why Memminger believes he was attacked, and Joey Mogul, an attorney for Memminger, said Tuesday evening she was not prepared to comment further on the case.
Evanston attorney Grant Farrar said Wednesday morning he could not comment because he had not seen the lawsuit. Skokie’s village attorney did not return a request for comment Wednesday, and spokesmen for police departments in both suburbs deferred comment to other officials.
Ciara McCarthy contributed reporting.
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Twitter: @PatrickSvitek