EVANSTON, Ill. (WHDH) — A student in Illinois is suing the police department after he said they accused him of stealing his own car.
Police in Evanston said they were responding to a 911 call about a stolen car. A woman called police on the man, saying she saw him outside the car with a tool in his hand. She also allegedly followed him in her car to update them on his location.
In the call, the woman described the suspect as “African-American with a black hood” and also told police she was concerned that she was racially profiling.
The man, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Northwestern University, was seen on camera getting out of his car with his hands up. Several officers with guns drawn were then seen tackling him to the ground and arresting him.
However, the car was his all along and was not stolen. The man’s attorney said when the woman said she saw him with a tool in his hand, he was just trying to fix loose molding on his car. After the man gave officers proof that the car was in fact his, he was charged with disobeying a police officer and resisting arrest. The charges were later dropped.
The man is now suing Evanston and its police department, accusing them of excessive force and malicious prosecution. The police department did not comment on the video, citing the pending lawsuit.
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