A woman dragged from her car and pinned to the ground by Chicago police officers at Brickyard Mall in May is suing the officers and the city.
Mia Wright says the violent actions by police left her blind in her right eye, which may end her dream of becoming a paramedic.
Besides Wright, four members of her family also are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Wright and the others claim their constitutional rights were violated by officers because they conducted an unlawful stop, made a false arrest and used excessive force. The event inflicted emotional toll, as well, the lawsuit claims with the plaintiffs suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, among other ailments.
The city’s Law Department said it hasn’t been served with a copy of the lawsuit yet and couldn’t comment. The Chicago Police Department also declined to comment.
The other plaintiffs are identified in the lawsuit as Tnika Tate, Kim Woods, Ebony Wilbourn and Javon Hill. The lawsuit says the five are related. Tate and Wright have previously been identified as cousins.
On May 31, according to the lawsuit, Wright and the other four were sitting in a Hyundai Sonata at the Brickyard Mall when multiple police officers surrounded their car.
On video recorded by bystanders, officers are seen shattering the car’s windows with batons and yanking the women out of the car. Wright said she was pulled out of the car by her hair and a piece of glass from the shattered window hit her eye.
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 The People Can Fly Gibbs (@AdrienneWrites) June 1, 2020
“Mia Wright is now blind in her right eye; the impact of which has caused a devastating blow to her aspirations of becoming a paramedic,” the lawsuit reads. Wright is an assistant funeral home director who had just started paramedic training at the time of the incident, according to the lawsuit.
Wright was thrown on the ground as officers knelt on her back and neck even though she said she was complying with their commands, according to the lawsuit. She and the other women were arrested and brought to a nearby police station. Only Wright was held overnight; she was charged with a misdemeanor, but that charge was later dropped.
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The lawsuit also alleges Wright received more verbal abuse at the police stateion; a processing sergeant told Wright she was a “savage b----,” the lawsuit said.
Police had been staking out the Brickyard Mall because of widespread protests and looting that weekend in the city. That included the ransacking of several businesses in the area of the mall.
Wright has previously said she and her relatives had noticed a large crowd gathered outside some of the stores and were just trying to leave the outdoor mall.
