A Chicago mother sued the Chicago Police Department on Wednesday, saying officers were unnecessarily rough with her 10-year-old son when they arrested him in April because they believed he had a gun and information about a gang.
Tanisha McGee and her son were on their way to pick up Chinese food on the evening of April 6 near 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue when “several” officers approached them, according to the suit, which names the city and an unspecified number of police officers as defendants.
McGee says the officers grabbed her son and were unnecessarily rough with him as they began asking him if he had a gun.
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Police did not find a gun on the boy after searching him but put him in the back of a squad car, according to her suit. McGee called 911 for help, and more officers arrived on the scene.
Eventually, cops took the boy back to station to be questioned, where the suit says they called the boy a "mother------," yelled at him and interrogated him about gang activity.
Police didn’t let McGee see her son while he was being held, and officers "laughed about the situation and ridiculed" her, the suit alleges.
McGee claims police threatened to arrest her for child neglect if she kept asking to see him. When he was eventually released, police issued the boy a citation for urinating in public.
The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Included in the eight-count suit are claims of excessive force, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
McGee is seeking punitive damages against the city and the officers, as well as compensation for legal fees.
