Mom Says Her Black Kid Was Unfairly Suspected

CHICAGO (CN) - Police picked up a 13-year-old black child from his own suburban driveway after a neighbor reported a burglary, the boy's mother claims in federal court.

D.Z. "is a minor child of 13 years," his mother, A. Thompson, says. "He is black, an honor student, and does not have a criminal history." (Italics in original.)

"At approximately 11:30 a.m., a person not of African descent, reported a burglary in an upper middle-class area of Evanston, Illinois," according to the complaint. "Plaintiff resides with his family in the same upper middle-class neighborhood."

Evanston is over 62 percent white, according the 2000 Illinois census.

"The burglary victim asserted that a black male was the perpetrator," the complaint states. "Plaintiff was grabbed and handcuffed by defendant [Mark] Buell in the driveway of his (plaintiff's) home; although, the dispatch radio transmissions show that plaintiff did not fit the description of the black male sought. Especially, that plaintiff by appearance is noticeably a child.

"Even after realizing that he (defendant) had a child against the police car in handcuffs and after being informed that the child lived there by his mother who was on the scene (in their own driveway), defendant would not remove the handcuffs." (Parentheses in original.)

Buell uncuffed D.Z. only after the victim arrived and confirmed that D.Z. was not the burglar.

"Defendant Buell, not of African descent, has a Facebook page that shows offending images and messages in the weeks before the encounter with plaintiff," the complaint states. "Such messages include Officer Buell referring to himself as the 'OG' or Original Gangster and showing the middle finger; stating among things: 'When you all need a cracker at your next party, see if I show up...'; he also posted presumably before work: '...it's gonna be a little toasty outside today, make sure you drink plenty of hater-ade.'"

The police officer also allegedly posted a picture of "what appears to be a child (but could be an effigy) tied by his hands to the inside roof of an Evanston police car and that the child is dangling."

D.Z. seeks damages for unreasonable seizure, false imprisonment, assault, and failure to train.

He is represented by Christopher Cooper.

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