A Chicago man says that he is hoping to inspire changes in the way communities and police departments interact, inspired by the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis.
Damien Stewart spoke out about his experiences with police on Tuesday, saying that he was assaulted by Chicago police officers after he was detained following a traffic stop on Stony Island Avenue in 2019.
Stewart, who says police found an illegal weapon in his vehicle, was brought to the Fourth District police station when the encounter, which was captured on surveillance footage, took place.
“While I was in custody…the same officers from the traffic stop, they came back there in lock up,” he said during a press conference Tuesday.
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Stewart says that the officers said they had wanted to search him again, and it was during that search that he says he was assaulted.
“It was close-handed fists,” he said. “They just struck me. I don’t know why they struck me. I didn’t say anything make no aggressive movements toward him.”
Surveillance video, obtained during the course of a lawsuit against the department, appears to show officers punching Stewart with closed fists.
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He says the lawsuit was settled in his favor, and that he received monetary damages.
Chicago police told NBC 5 that two of the officers involved in the incident were disciplined, and that they remain on the force.
Community organizer William Calloway says that while the lawsuit was settled, what hasn’t been resolved is Stewart’s fears.
“What has not been resolved is his fear, and the trauma that he experienced,” he said.
Together, Stewart and Calloway say that they are hoping to inspire police reform, aiming to ensure that a similar situation doesn’t befall anyone else.
“I’m trying to inspire some youth that’s a little younger than me, and to make a change for them,” Stewart said.
