The ACLU has filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of an Eastern Illinois University swim team member.The suit alleges East Moline, Hampton and Rock Island law enforcement officials unlawfully arrested, detained and threatened to shoot a black college athlete while pointing a gun to his forehead at a rest stop as he traveled with the school’s swim team, a civil rights group contends in a lawsuit. He is the only black member of the college swim team.

On February 24, 2019, Butler, who was 19 at the time, and his teammates were traveling on a bus from a South Dakota swim meet when they stopped at an East Moline rest stop, just over the Illinois border past the Interstate 80 bridge. Butler stepped out to stretch his legs. Heading back onto the bus, his coach suggested he take a photo of a roadside sign for the team's social media account.

While taking the photo, several law enforcement vehicles stopped and officers drew their guns. Two officers had Butler on the ground. Butler said one cop pointed a rifle at him and another had a gun to his head.

"He said, 'If you move, I'll blow your (expletive) head off,'" Butler said.

The team's bus driver, Todd Slingerland, and Butler's coach were alarmed and exited the bus to tell the officers the teen was part of the school's swim team.

Several minutes after the officers searched his pockets and placed him, still cuffed, in the back of a police vehicle, ACLU lawyers said authorities forced him to provide photo identification before releasing him. The officers involved were part of the Hampton Police Department, the East Moline Police Department, and the Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office, ACLU attorneys noted.

The ACLU says Butler started seeing a therapist to address trauma and depression he's endured following the incident.

“I was scared and depressed. I remember sitting in class the next day, looking at the bruises on my wrists and replaying the events of that night,” said Jaylan. “Now whenever I see a police officer, I don’t feel safe—I feel scared and anxious.”

My dad taught me at a young age what to do when you are stopped by police officers – stop instantly, put your hands up, drop anything you are holding, and drop to your knees,” Butler said. “I hoped I would never have to use this advice in my life, but it happen that day. 

What happened to Jaylan is an example of the harmful police interactions that people of color experience far too often, but receive much less attention. Officers forcibly arrest and search without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or any other lawful justification. Then the police and their superiors lie about what the facts. In addition, they never tell them why they are being arrested, even after they realize their mistakes. 
 

#MakeEmNotice #EnoughisEnough