The mother of an 18-year-old woman fatally shot Tuesday in an Avalon Park convenience store has been charged with kicking a police officer at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Officers were attempting to clear the emergency room about 10 p.m. when Nyisha Beemon, 35, allegedly pushed an officer from behind, grabbed his vest and kicked him, Chicago police said in a statement.
Beemon was reportedly not allowed to view the body of her daughter, Jaya Beemon, who was fatally shot that night in Avalon Park, according to news reports. She was one of five people shot when three gunmen opened fire on someone inside.
Nyisha Beemon is charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery and resisting an officer, police said.
Attempts to reach Nyisha Beemon were unsuccessful.
In a statement, the ACLU of Illinois condemned the officer’s use of force.
“It is puzzling and disconcerting that a police officer — a trained professional who should be able to de-escalate a tense situation — chose the worst moment of Jaya’s mother’s life to arrest her,” ACLU of Illinois’s staff attorney Elizabeth Jordan said in a statement.
“No grieving mother should face arrest in the hospital where her child’s body has been taken,” she said.
Jaya Beemon was studying for an associates degree in healthcare at Malcolm X College, according to Chicago City Colleges spokeswoman Katheryn Hayes.
Chicago police did not immediately have a comment.
