Black Teen Testifies that Chicago Police Officer Struck him Repeatedly while Handcuffed

From [HERE] Gregory Jeffries says his face was left swollen and bloodied after a Chicago police sergeant struck him four times in 2010 without provocation. "I felt pain," Gregory Jeffries testified Thursday during the first day of the trial of Sgt. Edward Howard Jr. on charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct.

Jeffries was 19 and handcuffed when the alleged beating took place in a South Side parking lot. The incident was captured on a surveillance camera. The lawsuit claims Gregory Jeffries was stopped by police Oct. 11 as he and a friend were leaving the King Gyro carry out at 79th Street and Vincennes Avenue. During the stop, Jeffries was handcuffed with his hands behind his back and was hit several times by an unnamed sergeant, causing Jeffries to spit blood onto the ground, according to the complaint.

Jeffries was charged with trespassing, but the charge was dropped in December, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Chicago.  Jeffries said he never received medical treatment for his injuries but still sought "justice" for the attack. He gave mostly brief answers to questions and didn't show any emotion from the witness stand.

Clayton Crane, a Cook County judge who is presiding over the bench trial at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, will decide Howard's fate. Testimony continues next week.

In opening statements Thursday, Assistant State's Attorney Ankur Srivastava said Howard disrespected "the badge" the night in October 2010 when he responded to King Gyros at 7904 S. Vincennes Ave. and struck Jeffries.

Instead of protecting and serving, "he abused and injured," the prosecutor said.

Clips of the surveillance video recorded outside the takeout restaurant were played in court and showed Howard allegedly delivering three quick open-handed slaps to the teen's head while several other Gresham District officers stood by. The fourth smack was not caught on tape, Jeffries said.

The judge was also shown photos of Jeffries' swollen face from the alleged beating. Jeffries' mother, Nicole Jones, who also testified on Thursday, said she took the photos within hours of the incident.

Howard, 49, wearing a black suit and purple tie, took notes and spoke quietly with his attorneys as testimony proceeded. The 25-year police veteran remains an employee of the department but has been stripped of his police powers, said Howard's attorney, Robert Kuzas.

Kuzas told the judge that Howard was defending himself that night. He maintained that Jeffries was acting "immature" and "inappropriate" and that Howard slapped him when Jeffries was coughing up "phlegm" and preparing to spit on the officer.

When Kuzas questioned Jeffries on the witness stand, the alleged victim denied he was about to spit on Howard, but Jeffries agreed he was agitated and unresponsive to officers questioning him in the parking lot because an employee of King Gyros had directed racial slurs at him and kicked him.