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CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A group of lawyers filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Chicago, seeking a judge’s order that the police department follow the law concerning access to a phone for those who are taken into custody.
Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli joined the suit.
During a news conference outside CPD headquarters on Tuesday, she said police have been violating the law since it was passed in 1963 and it has increased dramatically following the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent arrests of protesters in recent weeks.
“Since 1963, the law has required that every person arrested is entitled to communicate with their loved ones and counsel,” said Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli. “For seven decades, Chicago police have not been held accountable for this systemic violation of human rights. If the police just followed the law, we would no longer be the false confession capital of the world and communities would have greater trust for and cooperation with the Chicago Police Department.”
By her research, she said, police violated the law in 90-percent of the cases.
The attorneys who are suing noted the "reasonable time" to get a phone call under the law is within an hour.
Protesters who have been arrested told of being handcuffed to benches for several hours and being interrogated and harassed by officers. Some were juveniles.
They also complained they were not given masks.
”On Sunday, May 31, I was slammed to the ground and beaten with batons by CPD while trying to protect my brother and his fiancée, #LetUsBreathe co-founders Damon Williams and Jennifer Pagán, and our comrade Christopher Brown,” said Kristiana Rae Colón of the #LetUsBreathe Collective, in a statement. “Horrified by the excessive force and unjust targeting of my family and fellow organizers, I did my best to intervene and was injured in the process. When I arrived at 51st & Wentworth to try and locate them, the supervising officer told me they weren't there. I asked again if he was telling the truth and he said he had no reason to lie to me. After several hours of fear and confusion, it turned out they were there after all, but were denied access to counsel for several more hours. Our organization supports mutual aid efforts across the South & West sides, and had to redirect our time and resources to a rapid response rally to get our people out of jail. This is one of the many ways superfluous police encounters are a theft of the energy that should be spent on keeping people safe.”
Activist and artist Malcolm London, who was arrested following a protest on May 31, said he sat in the hospital handcuffed to a wheelchair for nearly eight hours before he saw a lawyer.
“I hadn’t slept. I thought I was alone. I was afraid I would be locked up with no end in sight. I wasn’t the only person in custody crying out for information and asking to talk to my lawyer. I have nightmares about being in custody and terrified that I’d be locked up without any explanation or contact with the outside world," he said.
Campanelli said the access to a phone and an attorney is not a favor that police grant.
It is a basic right, she said, and she added that everyone should be angry that police are getting away with this.