A misdemeanor charge has been dropped against a woman who says she was left partially blind earlier this year when Chicago police officers smashed through a car’s windows to drag her out by the hair in a video-recorded encounter outside the Brickyard Mall.
City officials moved to dismiss the disorderly conduct charge against Mia Wright on Monday, records show, nearly four months after the violent May 31 arrest.
Representatives for the city’s legal and police departments declined to comment on the decision — and they didn’t offer an explanation to Wright, either, according to her lawyer.
“I think this one speaks for itself,” attorney Nenye Uche said Tuesday alongside Wright. “Watching the video, assessing and evaluating the entire circumstance — it’s obvious that it’s baseless.”
Bystanders recorded as police used batons to smash the windows of Wright’s cousin’s car outside the Northwest Side mall. An officer grabbed Wright’s hair, which had been wound into a bun, and yanked her from the car, Wright said.
My cousins pulled over for Chicago police at brickyard yesterday at 1 pm and police bust the windows out, pulled one out by her hair. Glass got in her eyes. Police took one of my cousins and took the car. They left her mother and my other cousin - the driver - in the lot. pic.twitter.com/PqxpSfF463
— Adrienne Reverse Side Kick Gibbs (@AdrienneWrites) June 1, 2020
While Wright was on the ground, the officer knelt on her back and neck. Wright, who got a piece of glass in her eye from the shattered window, was held overnight at a nearby police station, she said.
Police initially said she “was observed by responding officers assembled with 3 or more persons for the purpose of using force or violence to disturb the peace” — a claim that Wright says “makes no sense.”
Two officers were stripped of their police powers pending the outcome of an investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which probes police misconduct.
A spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office said they’re still investigating for possible criminal charges against the officers.
“If anyone did that who was not a police officer, you would be at [the Cook County Jail at] 26th Street and California facing criminal charges,” Uche said. “And I don’t think there should be one standard for police officers and one standard for everyday citizens.”
Wright’s attorney commended the city “for doing the right thing” by dropping the charge, but said “somebody has to pay for Mia Wright’s injuries.”
Wright said she can’t see out of her right eye as a result of her injuries, dealing a blow to her hopes of becoming a paramedic.
“I’ve been embarrassed, I’m having nightmares and other issues now,” Wright said. “I’m still dealing with it.”
Contributing: Matthew Hendrickson
